Dirty Little Secret
by Captain Serious
Summary: When you work for and have a friendship with the Chicago Blackhawks, you never know just what your going to get.
1. Jackpot

Bored and victims of jetlag, Patrick Sharp and Adam Burish settled themselves in to their room at the Hilton. It was a little after one in the morning and the hotel was deathly quite. Not a word was spoken between the two as they unpacked a few items preparing themselves for tomorrow nights game. Sharp set the alarm on the clock provided by the hotel on the nightstand, which oddly enough, didn't match the rest of the furniture in the expensive room.

Still dressed in their dress pants, ties and shirts, the two men lounged in the beds flipped absentmindedly through the channels. They found nothing but infomercials and pay-per-view porno. Quickly growing bored, Burish rose from his laying position and eyed Sharp. He lifted up his pant leg and rolled his sock down. "Look at what I just so happened to stumble across."

It was a room key, a key which belong not to a certain pair of young players, but to a certain equipment manager whom the entire team had grown quite fond of and close to. When the boys get to head straight to their rooms for the night, it's the job of the equipment managers to head to the arena and set up the locker room for a game.

Somehow Adam had become a master at getting room keys which didn't belong to him, and Sharp used it to his full advantage. After messing with the breakfast order Kane and Toews had filled out, Adam and Patrick quietly made their way down the hall.

"You think their in there?" The last thing Sharp wanted to do was walk in and find them laying in bed. Then their plan would be down the drain.

Bur looked at his watch. "I don't think so. Knowing those two, they're still taping up sticks."

After inserting the key and getting the green light, Burish opened the door slowly and walked in. The small light next to the bed was turned on; almost making them panic for a second. It wasn't until they saw steam coming out from beneath the small bathroom door and the sound of the shower running did they know they were in the clear.

Rummaging through the room for a second, Patrick slung an Easton duffel over his shoulder. "Found it."  
As soon as they heard the shower turn off, the two pranksters left the room giggling like a bunch of school girls. "This turned out to be way better than I expected."

Back in their room, Sharpie tossed the bag on his bed and opened it carefully. He was somewhat reluctant about going trough this particular bag, but Bur assured him it was all in good fun, and sweet, sweet revenge for the stunt that had been pulled on him.

Their eyes bugged and jaws dropped as soon as they opened it. Burish pulled out a nice pair of undies and held them in front of Sharp's face. "Jackpot."

**

A boiling hot shower was exactly what the doctor had ordered. The water melted all stress away and relaxed every tight muscle. It had been a while since the opportunity of a nice shower had come along, and Trixie O'Callahan got to it before her roommate could.

After turning off the water and drying herself off, Trixie wrapped her hair in a towel and held one close to her body. She had intended on grabbed the tub of body butter from her bag and lathering up. The cold and dry atmosphere of the ice arenas always made her skin dry and chapped.

For a minute, she looked around the room, thinking she over looked and her bag was in front if her. She couldn't imagine her bag was stolen, no one else had a key to their room and she watched Ryan walk out, closing the door behind him. Trixie knew she hadn't left it on the bus for she was the one who carried it up to the room. Then she remembered what happened last season; when Tazer's bag had been 'stolen' and mysteriously found the room which just so happened to belong to none other than Adam Burish and Patrick Sharp.

Draped in nothing but a plush white towel, Trixie exited the room, remembering her room key and headed down the hall. To the left, and three doors down, Trixie pounded on the door with both fists. She was freezing and wanted her bag. With no answer she grew impatient and frustrated. She knew this was revenge, after she had gone in to their room, taken Burish's clothes from his bag and filled it with confetti. It was a harmless joke which had now turned in to a road-prank-war between them.

Once again, she knocked the door. "Burish," she called out; "if you open the door and give me my bag I'll show you my tits."

She thought for sure that would get Burish to open the door, but it failed. Instead, three doors opened and men came stumbling out. The only thing they had heard was the word "tits".

Jonathan Toews was the first to exit his room, followed by Patrick Kane, who was only in his underwear and what seemed to be a camera in his hand. Next came Brian Campbell, who, lucky enough, didn't have to bunk with anyone. It looked as if he had been sleeping, his hair was sticking up wildly and he was wiped saliva from the corner of his mouth.

Trixie grew more uncomfortable as Seabrook and Keith came out of their room.

"Wow, it's not everyday we get to see O.C naked." Seabrook ruffled his hair with his hand, waiting for the female equipment manager to drop her towel.

Kaner and Tazer waited patiently, Patrick with his camera ready to take a picture. If she could, Trixie would kick in the Burish/Sharp door and grab her bag after beating them half to death. "Forget it, Seabs. It's not going to happen. And, I am not naked. I have a towel."

She wished they would have at least left her with a pair of panties and a bra. But, all in all, Trixie knew it was all in good fun and tomorrow at breakfast they would all be laughing about her current predicament.

"I'm sure Bur and Sharp are sleeping." Tazer eyed the twenty-two year old. "You could always come and hang with Patty and me."

Pat looked up and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm sure one of us has clothes that would fit you."

"Thanks, but, no thanks." Now Trixie eyed Duncan, hoping he could save her. It's not that she didn't like hanging out with Kane and Toews; she would just much rather do it when she had clothes on. Her clothes.

"I've got clothes for you." Relief washed over Trixie when Duncan finally stepped it. He placed a light hand on her shoulder and led her in to the room he shard with Seabrook. They said good night to Pat and Jon as they exited back in to their room.

The t.v. was on, and a cart of food was placed between the beds. Trixie found it rather amazing how fast men could mess their beds up. They had been at the hotel for less than two hours and the room looked as if they had been living there for two years.

"It didn't take you two long before ordering room service." Trixie took a french-fry from one of the plates and stuffed it in to her mouth. She hadn't eaten anything but a peanut butter protein bar yet today and she starving.

Brent lay back down on his bed making himself comfy. He never had a problem staying in hotels and made himself feel at home quick. "Jetlag always makes me hungry."

Duncan dug through his duffel looking for clothes she could wear. Trixie was thankful to be in a room with Keith and Seabrook. Them, plus a few of the married guys, were the only ones who never tried to make a move on her. Although, Jigsaw had six months ago, and lets just say she may have flirted back.

"Here, Trix. I'm sure these will fit." Duncan handed her a stack of clothing with a warm smile. She accepted them with a thank you and asked if she could change in their bathroom. "No problem, go 'head."

Turning on the light with her index finger, Trixie closed the door behind her not bothering to lock it. After dropping the towel, Trixie slipped on the plaid boxers and blue ADIDAS sweatpants and the red 'hawks tee hung loosely over her frame. All of the clothes were baggy, but, it was only for the night. She still kept the towel wrapped around her head though. Trixie had dyed it two certain colors especially for the season. It was a surprise and wanted to wait to show the boys.

"They fit okay?" Duncan was lying in bed, with both hands resting under his head. His attention seemed to be glued to the tube.

"Yeah, thanks…again. You really saved my ass." Trixie let out a small laugh draping the folded towel over her shoulder.

Brent was half asleep in bed, which gave Trixie a small hint that it was time for her to go. "I'll see you tomorrow morning." Trixie made her way to the door; she didn't even notice Duncan had gotten up and was headed to the door was well.

She was in the hallway, about to walk back to her room when Duncan stopped her. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Trixie turned around and was met with a sly grin on Duncan's face. "Yeah, I believe I am." She was shorter than he was, so she had to get on her tippy-toes before placing her lips on his.

It was a simple kiss, and when Trixie pulled away she whispered a simple word, "Goodnight."


	2. He is not my boyfriend

For the past hour, Trixie sat comfortably in bed watching reruns of Law and Order while sucking down a crappy cup of coffee. She had woken up unusually early, 7:45, and now had nothing to do while everyone else slept. Originally she planned on heading over to Burish's room where she could annoy the fuck out of he and Sharpie, until they get so pissed, they have to give her the Easton duffel back.

But she knew those lazy fucks didn't wake up until well after eight on game days and eleven on their days off. They had to be at the arena no later than noon for a quick afternoon skate. Seeing as to how they were the visiting team; the boys had less time on the ice than they normally did.

It was road trips like these that split the team. Some loved them, others don't. They started in Denver then would travel south to Phoenix, then play the Ducks, Kings and Sharks and finally cross the border in to Canada for another three games before heading back to Chicago for Christmas. Everyone missed their families, pets and video games. But thankfully Brouwer had brought his XBOX along so they could at least have some sort of entertainment while stuck in hotel rooms.

The alarm she had set on her phone went off at nine am, and now they had no choice to get up. Trixie and Ryan bumped elbows in the bathroom as they washed their faces and brushed their teeth. While her roommate was able to get dressed, Trixie left the room momentarily so she could go bother Burish.

On the first knock he answered the door in his boxers, laughing when he saw who was standing in front of him. Adam let Trixie in and she laid down on Sharpies bed. He was flipping through the channels on the t.v; they showed no motivation in getting up.

"Where'd you get the cloths from?" Adam picked at what was left of his breakfast.

"Jigsaw."

"Aww, how cute. Your boyfriend gave you clothes to wear." Sharpie poked fun.

Trixie hid her blushing face in a pillow. "For the last time, he is not my boyfriend."

"Well, the noises coming from his room tell a different story." Burish added.  
"That was last season and we were just having fun, not fucking." Trixie tried to defend herself. She knew there was no changing their minds and as long as she knew the truth it didn't bother her. "Where's my bag at?"

"I don't know." Burish raked a hand through his bed head. "Sharpie's bag was stolen too."

Trixie knew better than to fall for that. He had said the exact same thing to Tazer. The two men loved messing around with Trix. She was just as gullible as Toews, but just not as serious. Besides, they had already taken what they needed so there was no use for them to hold on to the bag any longer.

"It's by the door." Sharpie pointed out.

She retrieved her bag and headed out but without Adam asking, "Since I gave you back your bag, are you still going to show me your tits?"

"Fuck you."

**

Back in her room, Trixie was thankful to finally have her bag back. She could dress in her own clothes and wear her own underwear. Nothing seemed to be missing, and nothing seemed to be damaged. She was half expecting everything to be gone, or at least her panties.

After quickly dressing, she repacked her and put the bag by the door. They were leaving right after the game which meant during the third period she and Ryan would have to start packing up the equipment. No one liked being on the road for that reason, they felt rushed and always felt like they were forgetting something.

Trixie knocked on Keith and Seabrook's door, hoping they hadn't headed down to the bus yet. Brent opened the door with the toothbrush hanging out the side of mouth and she could see Duncan, shirtless, repacking his bag well. With a mouthful of toothpaste, Trixie understood why he couldn't greet her properly but he let her in. She was armed with the clothes Duncan had given her last night and she felt her body temperature rise. It wasn't like she hadn't seen him without a shirt on before, but she was still young and immature and often found herself giddy and blushing around the topless men.

He smiled at her as he slipped on a sweatshirt over a white cotton v-neck. Last night Trixie had put their white sweaters and practice ones by the cubbies, along with all their gear, sticks and freshly sharpened skates.

"Here are your clothes. I really appreciate it."

"No problem." Duncan unzipped his bag and tossed the folded clothes in. "I have a feeling this wont be the last time Bur steals your shit."

**

The bus rides were never uneventful. Somehow Burish had gotten a hold of a cup of ice and he thought it would be funny to see how many ice cubs he would toss in to Trixie's shirt. She had made the mistake of wearing a black cotton v-neck and zip-up hoodie, which she had no choice but to now zip it up all the way.

Tazer too had fallen victim when he fell asleep. He woke up with a mustache drawn on his face with black magic marker. Captain Serious had no idea why people were laughing at him until he entered the locker-room. He dropped f bombs all while scrubbing his face with hand soap in the bathroom. That's why you never fell asleep on the bus unless it was an overnight trip.

Out of all the open seats, Burish had taken the pleasure of sitting next to Trixie. After he stopped putting ice down her shirt, he complimented her over and over on how good she smelled. It was her cherry blossom body butter from Bath&Body Works and the raspberry and vanilla smell came from her perfume.

But, the guys learned quick not to mess around with Trixie O'Callahan. The consequences of hurting her could be far worse than punching a cab driver or taking your shirt off in a limo. She is the only and youngest daughter of hockey legend Jack O'Callahan, a man who had beaten the Russians at their own game, won the Olympic gold metal in 1980 and even had the pleasure of wearing a Chicago Blackhawks sweater for five years.

Born in the spring of 1988, Trixie had spent two years of her life living in New Jersey while her father played for the Devils. He retired after just two seasons later and moved his family back to Chicago. Jack continued to do work with the Blackhawks, where his two children had grown up with the team and the game of hockey. Her brother had played briefly for the Rockford Ice Hogs before going to college and joining his father in the finance industry.

Trixie however, loved the game and knew from a young age this was the team she wanted to work with. When Rocky Wirtz, a close family friend, had offered Trixie the job as equipment manager, she took it. Only nineteen at the time, and for the fact she was a girl, Trixie knew she would have to earn respect from the guys and it had come quicker than she expected it to.

She had studied the guys for a while. Watching them practice and learning their personalities and it didn't take her long to figure out how each of the boys tapped their sticks, how sharp they liked their skates and what flavor of Gatorade they drank. The boys had grown so close and fond of the young woman, they even gave her the nickname her father's former teammates used on him, O.C. They were a family, and while boys looked to her as a younger sister, she looked to them as older and annoying brothers.

In the locker-room, Trixie sat on the bench lacing up skates for the boys. They were dressing out for a quick practice and Kaner, being Kaner, made Trixie lace his skates because he had 'too much to do'.

She watched as the boys practiced, read a magazine and dodged a few flying pucks. After, she collected their practice gear, loaded it back up into their bags and headed back to hotel with the boys for their pregame nap. While they slept, it was her job to make sure they had a change of clothes for after the game and loaded their Easton duffels in to a truck that headed to the airport.

Three hours before the game, they found themselves back at the arena. Music blasted from inside the locker-room as everyone got ready. Most of the guys sat by their cubbies taping sticks, others were having their skates sharpened and Trixie was stuck cleaning and fixing the visor on Duncan's helmet. Next she prepared a new stick for Kane, who had broken his during practice and another for Fraser.

It was game time, and once again Trixie saved the day when Toews had forgotten his mouthpiece in his bag. She ran back to the locker-room retrieved it and gave it to the young Capitan. The first period went smoothly, no broken sticks or helmets. She was able to watch the game only returning to the locker-room during the intermission. There she collected sticks refilled water bottles where as Ryan dried their gloves.

Duncan had pinched as ass as he walked by her. She let out a small squeal which thankfully no one really paid attention to. Burish had seem it, nothing gets past him. He gave Trixie the look, the one that meant she should stop flirting. It was the cocked eyebrow with a finger point.

Sure she felt guilty knowing Duncan had a fiancé back in Chicago. But as long as he kept it up, so was she. Trixie was young, beautiful and adventurous, and wasn't going to stop having a little fun.

The second period was a little rougher as the boys tried to defend their 3-0 lead. Ladd had broken his stick and Duncan had gotten in to a fight which sent Trixie running to the locker-room for a new stick and properly fitting helmet. During the third, they packed up and waited for the game to end so they could make it on time to their airport. It was well after eleven when they took off. The flight to Phoenix was quick, but it was good time for them all get in a short nap.

Trixie had claimed the seat next to Duncan when she slept with her face buried in to his bicep. She stretched after getting off the plane and gave her bag to Duncan. This time she had him take it to the hotel and keep it safe in his room until she returned. With a hat pulled over his head and a jacket keeping his body warm, Jigsaw gave her a hug goodbye. He looked over his shoulders before leaning down and pressing a quick kiss to her cold lips. The last thing Trixie wanted to was set up another locker-room at two in the morning. All she wanted was to snuggle up close to Duncan and fall asleep safely in his arms.


	3. Butts or boobs?

Still on a high from another road victory, booze and adrenaline flowed through the veins of eight young people. The air was thick and hot and swirls of smoke hung above their heads. Cigars hung from the mouths of five men while a cigarette dangled from the lips of one woman. "I can't believe you guys have special poker visors."

Andrew Ladd looked up at Trixie from his spot on the floor. A present cigar dangling from his lips and a plastic green visor covered his forehead that glowed under the soft light and gave his face a dark green tint. "It is a rare and special occasion when we play poker." His speech was slightly slurred from the number of beers he had consumed and his expression was rather serious. "It's necessary we use the proper props to celebrate said occasion."

"You are such a liar." Eager rolled his eyes. "You guys play all the time at Tazer's place."

Jonathan sat directly across the floor from Trixie, who puffed on a cigar and wore a red visor with a C on it. "Is that true?"

He shrugged. "We get bored when there's no practice."

She chuckled as Ladd dealt out a fresh hand of cards. They picked them up and arranged them. It wasn't your typical game of poker. With a few drinks in their systems, it was Burish's master idea to play strip poker. No one said no and now here they were, sitting on the floor in Burish and Sharpies room. Small sweat breads formed on the skin of everyone. Trixie felt like the odd man out, she had no visor and was losing terribly.

She had shed her shoes, socks, pants, necklace and shirt and now sat in nothing but her black boy shorts and matching lace bra. To her left was Ben Eager, who was losing just as bad as she was for he was only in his boxers. Kaner, Tazer and Jigsaw had only lost their shirts where as Ladd, Burish and Sharpie had lost their pants.

Trixie wasn't very good at her poker face and when Ladd laid down another royal flush, it became painfully obvious to Trix that she had lost. It was the moment of truth, what would come off next? The smiles of seven men appeared wide on their faces when they realized it as well.

"So, what will it be, Trixie?" Burish raised his eyebrows and even in his intoxicated state wiggled them. "Butts or boobs?"

Her face blushed wildly as she tried to seem confident. She knew it wasn't a good idea to have those Jägerbombs. Trixie knew she did dumb things when drunk and this was about to be added to the top of her list.

"Come on Trix," Kaner and Tazer joined in. "Butts or boobs?"

Soon she had all seven men chanting like tribal members. "Butts or boobs?"

Trixie stood up, turned her back towards the men and reached behind her. Before she knew it, Trixie was giving the seven horny men a strip tease as she unclasped her bra and slowly moved the straps down her arms. Tossing it to the side, it landed on Burish's bed. She turned around and met the gaze of one man. Her black and red dyed hair was long enough to cover her breasts so it left her not feeling too exposed.

Whistles and cheers filled the room as she sat back down. They knew she had the guts to do it and the time they all had been waiting for had finally arrived. To them, seeing Trixie half naked was like seeing the second coming of Jesus. They knew it would come, but they just didn't know when.

She ignored the noises the boys were making. Trixie knew they were trying to get a rise out of her but after all, rules are rules and they were meant to be followed. And she had nothing to be worried about. It wasn't like she had a boyfriend waiting for her at home and all the guys were so wasted they probably would have no memory of exactly what happened in the morning.

Somehow they managed to finish the game and Trixie was lucky enough not to lose any more hands. Kaner had passed out on the floor snuggled with a pillow and some how Ladd and Eager made it back to their room. Giving up on trying to wake Patty up, Jon left and headed back to his room. Trixie got dressed, forgetting her bra was on Burish's bed and left as well.

In her intoxicated state, Trixie found it slightly hard to walk when the hallway which seemed to be slated. Halfway down the hall, Trixie lost her balance. Bracing herself for the hard impact of the floor, it surprised her when a pair of strong arms caught her. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck knowing exactly who it was.

"Did you like the little show I gave you?" Trixie's words were slurred too. She should have stopped drinking three hours ago.

The alcohol suppressed all of Duncan's good judgments. He smothered the girl who was four years his junior with kisses as he pushed her against the wall. Trixie allowed her legs to wrap around his waist and his hands gripped her hips.

Duncan loved her hips, they were wide, child-baring hips and in his mind very feminine. Their lips crashed against one another's and their tongues tangled. He knew she had a room to herself tonight, so using his thumb and index finger, Duncan fished the room key from her jeans pocket.

"What are you thinking?" Trixie pulled away, feeling Duncan take the key card from her pocket. She attached her lips to his neck and sucked at the clean shaven skin. That's the one thing she loved about the regular season; no beards.

Duncan bit his lip to keep from moaning aloud. He knew he was living in sin but the feeling of Trixie's lips on his skin led him further and further in to his infatuation. "I'm thinking we spend the rest of the night alone."


	4. Trouble

Tonight's game had been first loss the boys experienced in a long time. The Ducks had kicked their asses and it devastated them all. No one really knew what happened. It seemed they had just shut down and had no energy or the slightest interest in the game. The offence had been weak, with only one goal scored and the matching shitty defense showed after Anaheim won 1-4.

It wasn't until they stopped at a twenty-four diner did anyone really start taking to one another. The locker room had been dead silent after the game and as they loaded on to the bus for a thirty minute drive to L.A for tomorrows game. No one liked losing, but it seemed a certain defenseman was taking it the hardest.

Barley speaking to any of his teammates as they drank coffee and munched on omelets, Duncan Keith stared off in to space, looking at Trixie. She sat in the booth in front of them. She was clearly tired and still slightly hung over. Her appearance showed it all; with her hair tied back in a bun and her eyes had dark circles under them. She tried hiding them with mass amounts of foundation and concealer.

It amazed Duncan that no matter how shitty and tired she felt, Trixie always held a smile on her face. She was, in a way, his sunshine. From his rookie year five years ago to now, Trixie did her best to cheer him up. It never mattered to her how bad she was feeling all Trixie really wanted was for those twenty-four men to be happy. As long as they were, she was.

And that's exactly what had driven Duncan's attraction to her in the first place. It was her unselfish personality and ability to put a smile on his face. As a teenager in his rookie year, she would sneak her way in to the locker room after a loss and tell him a corny joke or offer to buy him a cup of coffee. She was jail bait and Trixie knew it. Being sixteen going on twenty, Trixie always loved hockey players. No matter how much trouble it got her in to she never stopped flirting. But it wasn't until Duncan joined the team did she find herself with a crush.

Last night hadn't been the first time they slept together, and both knew it sure as hell wouldn't be the last. If he thought hard enough, Duncan could still feel the weight of her body straddling his hips and the soft skin of her hands gripping his shoulders. Her black polished and chewed nails were too short to draw blood, but they sure did leave lasting marks.

The image of her head thrown back and face twisting with ecstasy was clearly painted in his mind and the sound of his name rolling off her pierced tongue still rang in his ears.

He snapped out of his day dream when Trixie appeared in front of him, sitting on the lap of Adam Burish. He had been eating a piece of 'homemade' apple pie, and he slowly began to feed small pieces to her. Trixie wasn't one to deny a sweet when offered.

It made his gut churn as Burish wrapped an arm around her torso. Trixie should be sitting on his lap with his arm wrapped around her tummy. He wanted to be the one to feed food to her and lick the fork clean after. But all chances of doing that had gone out the window the second he put the ring on Kelly's finger, right? Trixie could see in the inner battle going on inside the complex man. She found it funny he had no problem fucking her brains out late at night while they were on the road, or at her apartment, but he couldn't show his romantic, sensitive side to her.

Trixie hated that. It killed her knowing how confused he was. Duncan was the kind of person who was afraid of hurting anyone's feelings. He always responded "yes" to party invitations, no matter how much he hated the person, and he'd be there to give you the shirt off his back when you needed it. Duncan would never do anything to hurt Kelly, or Trixie.

He wanted to be with Trixie. Have her be there on the road with him and when they were home cuddle on the couch while watching movies or karaoke it out at Kris's place on off days. But then there was Kelly, who he did genuinely care about and loved. She was his fiancée after all, the person he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with.

Duncan liked Trixie and wanted her to be in his life forever, but he was scared to let go of Kelly.

Jigsaw finally let himself go and laugh when Trixie, Kris and Patty were seeing who could balance a spoon the longest on their nose. They looked like idiots and to Sharp, it looked like the perfect time to pull out his flip cam and start recording some footage for BTV.

Much to their dismay, Kris had won leaving Trixie and Kaner in charge of the bill. And using her charm, Trix got Pat to pay it in full and she left a fairly hefty tip. Burish ticked her sides lightly in order to get her off his lap. He was in need to use the bathroom before loading back on the bus.

They all paraded outside in to the surprisingly warm weather. At two am it was near sixty-degrees. Trixie found her way over to Duncan, who had hurryingly stuffed his phone back in to his pocket.

"You okay?" Trixie noticed how distressed he looked since they first arrived.

"Yeah." He raked a hand through his hair. "Just Kelly, she hate's it when I don't call her after games. Chewing me out because I didn't call her last night."

Trixie smiled, looked at her feet for a second and licked her lips. "Well have fun explaining a night of strip poker to her."

She had nothing against Kelly. Trixie liked her actually. All she wanted was her man.

That was the last thing he wanted to tell her. It was hard enough on him that Kelly was already jealous that Trixie was assistant equipment manager. He didn't need to worry her any more by telling Kelly what exactly had gone on in Burish's hotel room.

They all moved sluggishly down the hall when they finally reached the hotel. It was safe to say they were all tired and ready for a five hour sleep. Morning skate was at eight, a little too early for them all. Trixie didn't have a room to herself tonight, something she was relieved about. She hated spending her nights alone and who knows what kind of trouble she would have gotten herself in to if Ryan hadn't been sharing the room.

As usual, their room orders were the same. Burish and Sharp shard the room next to them, and then Keith and Seabrook and Kaner and Tazer across the hall. Ryan had beaten Trixie up to the room and was sound asleep the second his head hit the pillow. With her bag slung over her shoulder, profanities slipped from Trixie's mouth as she struggled to get the door open.

Duncan took notice to her troubles and scared her half to death when he grabbed her wrists. Not a word was spoken between them as Duncan opened the door for her. Trixie thanked him with a passionate kiss to the lips, and he turned to walk back to his room. It was then Duncan realized he was in trouble. Trixie had found a way to stay in his head, and now she was slowly slipping in to his heart.


	5. When Kelly's away, Duncan will play

Walking back in to the United Center that day had to be the scariest and exciting thing she had done in a long time. The black dress pants she wore hugged her hips and curvy thighs while a white button up shirt showed off the perfect amount of cleavage. It was everyone's first day back at the UC after their long road trip. Everyone missed the city and was without a doubt happy to be back. With only a day left until Christmas, Trixie and the boys found themselves back for a quick practice, and again preparing for another short road trip just before New Years. This time to Detroit.

Pushing the door open, she flashed her worn laminated ID with her photo on it to the security guard. "Good morning, Miss. O'Callahan."

"Good morning." She replied back in a just a happy tone. Trixie had made sure she had gotten her coffee this morning knowing the second she walked in to that locker room she would be doing nothing but working all day.

Just yesterday they had landed back in the Windy City. Trixie loved being in Canada but to her, there was no place like Chicago.

Taking the elevator up to the third floor, she turned left and walked down the hall, where she had to swipe her pass before walking through another set of heavy metal doors.

She saw a door to the left, where voices were spilling from. Trixie took a deep breath and readjusted the purse on her shoulder. Brining her closed fist to the door, she let out all her oxygen as she knocked lightly. The attention of the men had been caught; they stopped taking and turned around to face her. One man, in particular, who Trixie knew, sat with his back pressed against the back of a big leather chair, facing her.

"Trixie." Clint, the equipment manager, grinned rather excitedly from behind the screen of his computer. He had never had a female assistant equipment manager before and it wasn't her who he was worried about. It was the boys. At first when they told him Trixie would be the newest member of the Blackhawk family, he immediately knew it was Adam Burish who he would have to lock up.

"You wanted to see me?" Trixie smiled warmly stood up tall. She knew the men would never take her seriously if they thought she was uncomfortable and insecure with herself. The other men in his office took this as their cue to leave.

"Have a seat." Clint pointed to a leather chair on the opposite side of his desk. Trixie took a seat, crossing her legs and placed her purse on the ground. She was nervous, not knowing exactly why Clint had called her this morning asking her to come and see him when she arrived. He played with the wedding band on his left ring finger, trying to hide the amount of nervousness that welled in his stomach. "I've got some news." He finally found the balls to say it.

Clint laughed at how anxious she looked. No matter how tough she liked to look, Trixie was one to fold under stress. "On behalf of the Chicago Blackhawks I wanted to tell you what a great job you've done over the past three seasons."

"Clint, just cut to the chase." Trixie could feel a heavy ball in her stomach.

"I'm not firing you; I'm offering you more money and full benefits. We wanna keep you around as long as possible."

She felt as if the weight of the world has been lifted off her shoulder. Trixie had no idea why they were offering her a raise and full benefits, but she was happy.

But she could still sense he wasn't telling her something. Trixie was beyond words. She stood up, along with Clint and extended her hand to shake his. "Thank you…so much."

In the locker room, all the boys were excited to see her. She changed back in to her normal sweatpants and black 'hawks tee. They now knew they could joke around with her as much as they wanted to now; she was in a good mood. The boys were prepping for practice, and it didn't take long before they started giving her a hard time. She would sharpen their skates, and then five minutes come back to her complaining they weren't sharp enough. Trixie knew they were being pains in the ass with love. Burish even made her tape his stick; even though that really wasn't something she normally did, unless one broke during a game.

She watched them practice, fetching new pucks when asked to. But mainly her time was spent doing inventory, making sure things were ready to go for Detroit. After practice, one by one the boys entered the locker room. Tossing their gloves to Trix, who put them on the dryer. It had been a long day and she was tired.

Most of the guys had felt while Trixie stayed behind with Clint. They packed countless rolls of tape, wax and even a couple of blow torches so the guys could curve the blades of their sticks.

Trixie had just finished cleaning helmets when she spotted three guys left in the locker room: Keith, Seabrook and Campbell. Brent had split his pants during practice and needed Trix to stitch them back up. She enjoyed the quiet and quickly found herself getting nervous as Duncan slowly approached her.

He held his stick, knowing full well there was nothing wrong with it. He had used it as an excuse to get Trixie alone, away from Seabs and Soupy.

"I think its fine." Trixie checked the wood for any cracks. "I don't see anything, but, I'll cut and tape another one if you'd like."

She felt that bolt of electricity go through her as his bare skin came in contact of hers. "Don't worry about it. I trust your judgment."

Duncan had felt it too. He quickly found it hard to resist the young woman standing next to him. They were standing rather close to one another, and unlike anytime before there was suddenly a surge of sexual tension between the two.

Trixie wanted to say something but she could barley find her breath let alone her voice. She did open her mouth but closed it when no sound came out. Looking around to make sure no one was around; Duncan placed his hand on Trixie's chest and pushed her against the wall. His stood fell to the floor and out of Trixie's hand as she reached up and laced them together behind his neck.

Duncan's lips came crashing down on hers. They were warm and damp for he had just licked them. Her bottom lip had been caught between his; she could feel his teeth sinking in to her flesh then his tongue snaked its way in.

Pinned between the wall and him, Trixie was stuck and could feel the heat radiating off his body. Between the heated kiss and the warmth of Duncan's body, it was enough dizzy Trixie and arouse her beyond belief. Since the night in L.A they hadn't any alone time to spend with one another. It had been nearly a week since he put his hands on her last.

She came crashing back to Earth when she felt his hands skim the milky skin of her belly and start to travel down to the hem on her panties. Pulling back, Trixie's breath was ragged. "Not here."

"Come back to my place with me." Duncan had never asked Trixie come to his apartment. Not since he asked Kelly to marry him. He saw the confused look Trixie gave him. "She headed to Peoria to spend Christmas with her family."

Trixie was a bit skeptical on fucking Duncan in the bed he fucks his fiancée. All those doubtful thoughts were quickly washed away when he sucked the sensitive skin of her neck. "Okay."

The last time Trixie had been at Duncan's apartment was when he was still living with Brent. The three would stay up all night playing playstation and XBOX. Fraz and Troy had turned her on to all the video games.

She was pleased to see Kelly had whipped him to shape. Five years ago, he would have never hung his coat in the closet and instead of tossing his keys someplace random Duncs placed them on the cherry table next to the front door of his condo.

"She trained you like a dog." Trixie unbuttoned the wool pea-coat and slipped it over the back of a high chair at the breakfast.

Duncan chuckled as he looked through the pile of mail on the island. Since before she could even legally drink, Duncan knew her weakness for a nice glass of red wine. Without having to ask, Duncan poured two glasses and handed one to Trixie.

"Merry Christmas." He smiled to Trixie as she brought the glass to her lips and took a drink. Her clear lip gloss left a mark on the rim.

"Merry Christmas." Trixie smiled back, licking the corner of her mouth. Waking over to couch, Trixie placed her glass on a costar on the side table. "Do you have any good movies we could watch?"

Duncan ignored her question and wrapped his arms around her torso before Trixie could plop herself down. He knew once she got comfortable on the couch, there was no getting her up. He placed his lips on the back of her exposed neck. Trixie's hair was tied up messily in an elastic. He traced his tongue along the star tattoo which sent shivers up and down her spine.

"You know," Trixie turned around to face Duncan as his lips inched closer to her ear. "You look absolutely beautiful when you're just wearing sweats and a tee."

Trixie could feel his hot breath on her ear and it drove her crazy. Having enough, she moved her head and pressed her lips firmly to his. Duncan took his large defenseman hand and placed it on the back of Trixie's neck, pulling her closer to him. He could feel his own excitement growing as it was Trixie who slipped her tongue in to his mouth. Their tongues battles for control, which Duncan had won.

Lifting Trix up, she was able to wrap her legs around his waist. When he was sure he would be able to make it to his bedroom without dropping her, Duncan stride down the long hall. At one point his knees almost did give out when Trixie grabbed a fist of his hair and tugged as her tongue fluttered over the roof of his mouth, tickling him.

They finally made it to the bedroom when Duncan then playfully tossed her on to the king sized bed. The plush black duvet felt like heaven under Trixie as she let her body relax. Duncan crawled up on all fours until he hovered over the young woman. Her pearly whites showed as Duncs pushed her thick black bangs behind her left ear.

Slowly he brought his lips down on hers. They touched once and then twice where they stayed. This kiss was like none other they've shared. It wasn't the hungry, infatuated kiss they were used to having. This one was light and gentle, loving even. There was no tongue; there was no need for it when just their lips alone were sending each other the right message.

Duncan brought his hand to the hem of Trixie's shirt where he tugged at it lightly. When she gave no protest he took the liberty of removing it and tossing it to side. Duncan's soon joined Trixie's on the floor.

He felt no guilt what-so-ever as Trixie's fingers grazed his toned and muscular chest. Her tongue played with his in his mouth as she dragged her fingers down to his waist and unbuckled his belt. Next came the button to his jeans and she took her time unzipping them. Using her hands and feet, Trixie was soon able to shed Duncan of the unnecessary piece of clothing.

Slipping his hands underneath her back, Duncan unclasped her cream satin bra and tossed it over his shoulder, where ironically enough, it landed on the framed photo on the dresser of him and Kelly sharing a kiss at the park last fall.

Her nipples hardened the second they came in contact with the cold air. Trixie's breath was heavy as Duncan slowly kissed her cheeks, jawbone and neck, where his mouth moved down further and took the pink bud between his teeth. Biting gently and sucking, Trixie tossed her head back and moaned his name.

While switching between her left and right natural double d cup breasts, Duncan shed Trixie of her blue adidas sweats. The matching cream satin panties covered her freshly waxed womanhood. Trixie almost lost it when she felt Duncan's fingers graze the bare skin of her hip as he slid them down her shaven legs.

To Duncan, Trixie was one-hundred percent a woman. From long flowing hair, full-figured, curvaceous body to her soft moisturized skin where there was barley a hair to be found on her legs. Trixie had ice skaters legs. They were toned and muscular.

It didn't take long before Duncan's Ralph Lauren boxer-briefs joined Trixie's on the floor. Duncan wrapped her legs around his waist one by one. A ragged breath exited Trixie's mouth as Duncan's larger than usual member slid in to her tight pussy. She bit her lip and shut her eyes tightly. Giving Trixie a minute to get used to having him inside her, Duncan held himself up on his forearms, pushing himself in further.

He moved slowly at first, then faster and harder as Trixie lifted her hips to meet his. Duncan pounded deeper with every moan that escaped Trixie's mouth. Her fingernails dug in to the skin of his biceps, causing him to grunt from the pleasure and pain. He could feel her muscles contract around him

Trixie thanked god for the pill when she felt Duncan release and the hot cum spurting against her insides. The feeling of the added warmth and pressure sent her flying over the edge as she began to shake wildly, perpetuating her own orgasm. Her muscles tightened around him as she came, making Duncan catch his breath and push himself in to her as far as he can. The force of Duncan pushing into Trixie again starts up another round of orgasms as her breath became stuck in her throat.

Raking her nails deeply down his back, it caused Duncan to arc his back quickly slamming in to her once again. Unable to hold himself up any longer, Duncan pulled out, rolling off of Trixie and on to his back. Still slightly quivering from the experience, she began to giggle.

"What are you laughing about?" Duncan asked once his breath was caught and he was able to sit up again.

Trixie pushed the damp hair from her forehead. "That was…wow!"

This time they hadn't fucked. They had made love and they both knew it. Trixie moved her tired body farther up the bed where she rested her head on a pillow. She traced the muscles in Duncan's back as he rolled over and grabbed something from the nightstand. Turning back around to face her, a grim smile was plastered on Duncan's face. He held up is hand where a pair of pink fuzzy handcuffs dangled on his index finger. "Ready for round two?"


	6. Do you remember?

Trixie would have thought twice about taking that early morning shower if she knew it lead to trouble. But, she was in a hurry and figured it would be faster just to shower at Duncan's. As he lay fast asleep in bed, Trixie turned the shower on hot and found a towel before stepping in. She never showered with jewelry on so she twisted the small band off her right ring finger and placed it on the ledge atop the shower door.

She scrubbed her body clean and washed her hair quickly before getting out. It was Christmas morning and she was expected to be at her parent's house at noon for a family brunch and quick exchange of gifts before heading over to Coach Q's house later for a team Christmas dinner. Most of the boys couldn't go home for the holiday with a strict practice and game schedule. So, this year Joel took it upon himself and invited the boy and the one's closest to the team. Trixie just so happened to a part of that group.

After dressing the clothes she had worn yesterday, Trixie climbed back on to the bed and over to Duncan. His bare chest rose and fell with every breath he took. To Trixie, he looked so peaceful while he slept. She didn't want to wake him; after all he must be exhausted after his performance in bed last night. Her thighs and lower half were sore beyond belief, and her wrists still had marks on them from being handcuffed to the headboard half the night.

Slowly and carefully Trixie placed her head to Duncan's forehead. Kissing him goodbye and whispered in his ear. "See you tonight, baby."

This was how she wished her life would have turned out. Waking up next to Duncan Keith with his arm draped over her naked hip. Waking up the sound of his light snoring and cooking him breakfast in the red underwear she knows that drive him crazy.

Closing the door behind her, Trixie jogged down the stairs and walked out on to the snow covered sidewalk. It was another white Christmas, just how she liked it. It was bitter cold and her breath came out in clouds as she exhaled. Her car had been parked down the block and the second Trixie started her new 2010 black Nissan Maxima, she turned the heat on full blast, warming her chilled bones.

The drive back to her Lincoln Park apartment was rather quick for there was hardly any traffic at nine o'clock in the morning. Taking the steps two at a time, Trixie unlocked the door to her third floor apartment and walked in.

Tossing her keys on to the table and dropping her coat on the couch, Trixie invaded her closet where she brought out the bags of gifs which she had bought nearly four weeks ago. She had all her Christmas shopping done two weeks before leaving for their two week road trip. Unlike last year, Trixie had made sure to get all her shopping done early.

Still in her dirty sweats and tee, Trixie sat on the floor for a good thirty minutes wrapping all the gifts in decorative holiday paper. With an hour left until she was expected at her parents, Trixie found a pair of nice black pants and a red sweater to wear. After straightening her hair and putting her face on, Trixie made sure the flat iron was unplugged and that her cat had food and water. She knew full well it would be late until she finally got home.

What should have only been a fifteen minute drive to Evanston, Trixie found herself stuck in traffic and pulled up on to her parents driveway a little after twelve. Inside, Trixie found her bother lounging on the floor with the remote glued to his hand. He was watching ESPN and didn't even bother to get up when he saw it was just his sister.

Trixie joined him on the floor, trying to snatch the remote from his hand. It was a rarity they saw each other anymore. Hockey season was rough on Trixie and during the summer her brother always seemed to be on some tropical island with his family.

"So I watched all the hawks games on versus while they were out of town." Mike tried striking up a conversation with his baby sister. She didn't know she had just walked into his trap.

"Yeah?" Trixie picked the skin around her thumb nail. She was craving an Advil in hopes of calming her sore muscles. "They won all but one game."

"They could use a new equipment manager. The one they have doesn't seem to be doing her job right."

"Fuck you." Trixie playfully punched her brother in the arm before getting up.

She followed the smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies in to the kitchen where her mother was plating the treats. Her father was in the middle of having his knuckles smacked away by her mother as he tried to steal one. Debbie, her sister-in-law, bounced a two year old on her lap.

"Hey, daddy." Trixie entered the kitchen and felt at home the second she saw her father. Trixie was without a doubt a daddy's girl.

"Trixie!" It had been months since Jack O'Callahan has last seen his daughter. He's spoken to her many times on the phone but it had seemed like a lifetime since he last hugged his daughter. He had even attended a few games in an attempt to just catch a glimpse of her.

"Merry Christmas, mom." Trixie made her way to her mother. The two had bumped heads quite often while she was a teenager. Nina never liked her sixteen year old daughter hanging out with twenty-something year old professional hockey players. But now that Trixie was twenty-two and living the life she wanted, Nina and her daughter were civil with one another again.

Holidays were usually very simple at the O'Callahan household. Her mother cooked a small and simple meal for them. Mike and his wife and to head off to her family dinner later and Trixie too had other plans. They ate around three and opened gifts around five after Trixie and Nina had cleaned the kitchen and they let their stomach's settle.

It was Trixie and her mother sitting on the couch watching the news. Jack and he brother were outside trying out the new stick Mike had gotten from his father. Last Christmas she hadn't been able to come home for she and the boys were stuck in Colorado after a big snow storm hit the Denver area. All flights had been cancelled leaving them to celebrate at the Hilton.

"It's nice to finally have you home for Christmas Trix." Nina couldn't help but notice a certain glow coming from her daughter.

Trixie yawned. "It's good to be home."

It didn't take long before her mother dropped the one question she had been dying to ask all day. "What's his name? Does he play hockey?"

A small smile spread across Trixie's face. "It's nothing mom."

Nina knew her daughter was lying, but decided to drop it. After thanking her parents for the much needed bed sheets and other necessities she just never got around to buying, Trixie headed back to the city to spend the rest of the night with the boys. It was hard to say goodbye to her family, but Trixie knew the party would be just as good at Coach Q's.

Joel and his wife lived in a big, two story house in the Roger's Park neighborhood. Lauren greeted Trixie at the door and escorted her to where the boys were. All twenty two men lingered around, mingling with other players and United Center employees. After taking her coat, Lauren offered Trixie a glass of wine which she took.

Adam had been the first one she spotted. He wrapped his arm around her waist as he introduced Trixie to a ticket rep. She shook his hand politely and engaged in their conversation about why the Bears were in fact better than the Packers.

She hadn't skimmed the room for Duncan, who was talking with Sopel and his wife. His insides twisted with jealously as he watched Adam's arm remain around the waist of Trixie. From across the room where Brent Seabrook chatted with a few fans, he could see the green monster appear on the face of his defense partner. The reason was unknown until he saw what Duncan had been staring at for the past few minutes. Seabs couldn't understand why Jigsaw would be getting jealous over Burish.

Trixie knew she had to play it cool tonight. She could potently lose her job if she was the cause for any fights or drama between the teammates. Once catching a glimpse of Duncan herself, it somewhat made her feel powerful and bad at the same time. He's not supposed to get jealous over Trixie when another man has his hands on her. He has a fiancée. But then his reaction to Burish showed Trixie that Duncan actually has feelings towards her.

During dinner, Trixie sat in between Sharpies fiancée and Duncan. The conversations were light and contained to the people whom you sat near. That would have been fine for Trixie but unfortunately Burish decided this would be a good time to play footsies with her under the table. The two were by far not sexually attracted to one another; Adam just knew it pissed Trixie off when he did that. It would have been nice if Duncan knew that, he seemed to grow quieter and quieter over the course of the night. After knowing him for half a decade, Trixie knew that only meant he was growing angry and uncomfortable.

When the friends and family of Coach Q had left, it was time for a team gift exchange. Normally they just stuck to gag gifts and they even been warned on several occasions to keep it clean. But when these men get together and start buying gifts for one another, you can pretty much scratch clean off the list. For example, Burish had been supplied with a rather large amount of condoms, Kaner and Tazer had each been given books on what to expect when they go through puberty, and just to fuck with the usually quiet and shy Antti Niemi, the boys too gave him a book but this one was on one-hundred and one ways to please your women. The Finnish Fortress had just tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend four months ago before the preseason trip to Finland.

Duncan found himself finally relaxing when Trixie sat between his legs on the floor, but it didn't last too long.

"This one's for Trixie." Burish picked a small box up from under the tree and handed it to her. Curious and anxious as to what the boys could have quite possibly gotten for her, Trixie sat on her feet as she opened the box.

"Oh, my god." She couldn't believe her eyes. With the box wide open for everyone to see, it was plain view that the box in fact held one of her black lace thongs and the baby blue bra she had been wearing the night they played poker. Now it all made sense, why Burish and Sharp stole her bag from her on the first night of their road trip. The bra being left behind in Adam's room had just been a bonus.

"You left those in my room. I figured you'd want them back." Burish, along with his friends/teammates laughed when they saw the shade of red her cheeks had turned.

The room filled with loud whistles and Kane tried to steal the box away from Trixie. She flicked him atop the head and turned around, expecting to see Duncan sitting on the couch, laughing along with everyone else. But, he wasn't there.

"He went outside." Brent shrugged his shoulders as he finished off his drink.

After Kris opened his new karaoke machine, Trixie slipped from the group and outside. It was bitter cold out and with no coat she was freezing. Duncan sat alone on the concrete stoop, his knees pulled close to chests and his chin rested in his palm. He knew who it was when he heard the front door close.

"Are you sleeping with him too?"

Trixie ignored his question; she just sat down next to him pulling her knees in to her chest as well. "Do you remember, Valentines Day, five years ago? I was seventeen, you were twenty-one and you were holding me in your arms after you took my virginity." Duncan knew where she was going with this is. "You made me promise I wouldn't sleep with any other guys and you promised you wouldn't sleep any chicks. Then you told me when you'd wait for me until I turned eighteen and how you'd never hurt me. We were gonna get married. Duncan, I never broke my promise to you, but you broke yours to me."

Trixie had nothing left to say to him, plus she was freezing her ass off. Without another word she stood up and headed back in to the house. Duncan realized she was right. He promised he would never hurt her and he was, tearing her heart to shreds and giving her false hope every time he got in bed with her. There was only one problem; he had made the same exact promises to Kelly, but Trixie had been the first girl to ever truly capture his heart.


	7. You're the other woman

With only one practice left until the game against Detroit, it was safe to say not only were the boys stressed, but it too was getting to Coach Q. They were playing a scrimmage and what was normally their favorite part of practice, they were quite miserable.

"Now hit him on the other side." Joel yelled at a player as he watched him weakly check Eager against the boards which led to the white team scoring. Coach was pissed. "Come on, Duncs, I've got you running this play. The next thing you're gonna be running is the bench. Soupy, get out here."

Most of her work and been completed before the boys had even showed up to the arena this morning. Getting up at a quarter after six in the end did work in her favor because now Trixie could spend the rest of the afternoon sleeping. Sitting on the bench fumbling through her blackberry, Trixie scooted over to make room for Duncan. They hadn't spoken since Christmas which was four days ago. It was the longest they had ever gone with out speaking a word to each other.

Trixie hated the animosity between them. Duncan was her friend and she intended to keep it that way. "Something on your mind?" Trixie knew there was no way hell Duncs would ever give up points and a chance to back-check.

He squirted his water in to this mouth then set it back down. "Nope, just tired." And with that he had nothing left to say. Trixie was now pissed beyond belief. Standing to her feet, Trix pushed her way passed the guys and headed back in to the locker room. It wasn't like Duncan to act like that around her. Normally she was the first one he came to when he had a problem.

"Fuck it," Trixie started putting extra sticks back in to the bag that hadn't been used. "I'm done. He can be Kelly, I don't give a shit anymore."

"You feeling okay, O.C?" Burish scared her half to death. He sat out of practice today, his knee still giving him problems.

Trixie wiped the fallen tears from her eyes then turned to face Adam. "I'm fine. Just really stressed about going to Detroit."

"I don't think you're the only one." Adam laughed as the yelling voice of Coach Q made its way in to the locker room. The boys followed him and tossed their gloves and water bottled to Trixie. No one was happy and it was quite as they redressed, you could hear a pin drop.

Walking around the guys as they sat on the bench, Trixie covered the blades of the skates before packing them in to the bag named with the right guys name and number. They were leaving tomorrow afternoon for a game on New Years Eve. She had thought about flying out to Boston later that night to join her at the Winter Classic, but decided against it. Trixie wanted to be with the boys when they announced the roster for both the Canadian and US Olympic teams.

"Trix, I need you to fix my visor." It was always something with Duncan. He tossed it to Trixie, who caught it on the fly before it hit the ground.

Outside the locker room, Trixie stood at the workbench tightening the screws on the visor and then sprayed the inside down with disinfectant before wiping it clean. She was always one who minded her own business and that exactly what she was doing for a good five minutes.

"You stupid puck slut!" Trixie turned around at the sound of another female voice. Considering she was the only other girl she assumed the remark was made towards her. That voice was one Trixie knew and had grown to hate.

"Excuse me?" Trixie dropped the small bottle of Windex; she had been getting ready to clean the visor when she was interrupted.

Kelly walked towards Trixie. As she came closer and closer Trixie could tell her cheeks were stained and her eyes were puffy and swollen. Kelly had been crying.

"What the hell were you doing in my house?" Kelly's voice grew louder and more hostile.

"Bitch, I have no clue what your fucking talking about." Trixie's excellent vocabulary of profanities began to show.

The boys in the locker room could hear yelling, and soon scrambled up from their seats when they heard Trixie start to yell. She had a tendency to become violent when angry. Kelly had just finished calling Trixie a slut, in four different ways and as the boys came to intervene, Trixie had tossed the helmet and rag down.

"I am not a whore, you manipulative, controlling cunt." Burish stepped in front of Trixie backing her up against Versteeg, who made an attempt to hold her back.

"You fucked my fiancée. To me, that's whorish." Kelly was being held back by Sharp and Toews.

Trixie really had no idea what else to say, she said the first thing that came to mind. "Maybe if you weren't such a bad fuck, he wouldn't have to fuck me."

Understandably that pissed Kelly off. Somehow she had managed to slip past Jon and lunged towards Trixie, slapping her across the face. Duncan, who had been talking to the Joel, heard the two distinct female voices and came rushing to see what exactly was going on.

He couldn't believe it. There was his fiancée trying to slap Trixie while Burish and half the team tried holding the twenty-two year old back. They all knew if she got loose, Trixie could quite possibly beat the petite blonde in to the ground. Trixie stood at a height of 5'7 and had at least forty or fifty pounds on Kelly. Needless to say, it would not turn out well.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Duncan pushed his way passed the group of men trying to calm Trix. He grabbed a hold of Kelly's arm and pushed her against the wall.

"I know your sleeping with her Duncan, I just know it." Kelly reached in to her pocket and pulled out a simple silver band, too big to fit on Kelly's fingers. "I found this in the shower; her name is engraved in it, to Trixie with love."

It was the ring the boys had gotten her for her twenty-first birthday. Trixie thought she had lost, forgetting she had taken it off before she showered on Christmas day.

"How long have you two been together?" Kelly was shaking and tears started spouting from her eyes.

"We'll talk about it when I get home." Duncan wasn't in the mood to discuss this while his teammates looked on. He was beyond piss that Kelly had come down to UC and confronted Trixie.

"No!" Tell me right now. How long have you two been sleeping together. How long has she been the other woman, Duncan? Are there more that I don't know about?" Kelly ripped her arm Duncan's grasp and looked him in the eye.

Duncan turned around and looked at Trixie, who, for the first time in a long time actually showed some emotion as she too started crying. He had no intention on embarrassing Kelly, but she did insist he answer the question. "You're the other woman. I've been with Trixie since I was first drafted to this team. I broke all my promises to her by being with you."

Kelly blinked back all her eyes, feeling stupid now as the eyes of his teammates burned holes in her. "Don't even bother coming home tonight. You can come get your shit when you get back from Detroit."

And with that said, Duncan watched as his fiancée turned her back and quite possibly just walked out of his life forever.


	8. Are you offering me a job?

Trixie's alarm clock went off exactly at three a.m. She was tired and crabby and wanted to go back to sleep. Knowing it was a bad idea to drink half that bottle of wine last night; Trixie stumbled out of bed slightly nauseous and with a headache.

Still upset about the events that had taken place yesterday afternoon at the UC, Trixie contemplated about just calling in sick. Saying she had the flu and couldn't make it. But they knew she'd be lying and the only thing worse than showing up today would be if she didn't.

It would be hard for her to look those men in the eyes again. She feared they would see her as a puck slut, which she wasn't. Duncan had been the only man she really has ever slept with. If anyone was the slut it was him.

Instead of showering, she bathed. Allowing her sore muscles to relax and smell of the lavender bath salts soothed her depressed mind. The bus was leaving the United Center at promptly ten a.m with the team. Being the assistant equipment manager, it was her job, along with Clint and Ryan and fly with the bags to Detroit. The boys would arrive around five where as she would be there in half time. Even though their flight didn't take off from O'Hare until noon, there was a staff meeting at six before they could head down to the locker room and start getting things ready.

Wrapped in just a towel, Trixie wondered her way in to the front room and turned on the small lamp on the table next to the couch. It scared the tired woman half to death when she saw a lump lying on her couch.

"Jesus fucking Christ. What the hell are you doing here?" Trixie really didn't want to be in the presence of Duncan Keith. He played her liked a fool for the past few years and she was pissed, not wanting him to be around her. But he knew Trixie could never turn him away and he planned to use it to his full advantage for the time being.

"I had nowhere else to go." Duncan sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He had made sure Trixie was fast sleep in her bed before he used his key to let himself in and crash on her couch. Half expecting her to jump on to his lap and smother him with kisses; Duncan was let down when she gave him the cold shoulder.

She noticed he had raided her linen closet for a few extra pillows and a thick pink comforter. Turing the light on in the kitchen she grabbed a yogurt and a Monster from the fridge. "Make sure you lock up when you leave."

Back in the bathroom, Trixie ate her breakfast and got ready. The news from her TV offered comfortable background noise. They were talking about the Olympics, and who they thought would make the team. Even though she was pissed at him right now, Trixie really hoped Duncan made the Canadian team. He had been working his ass off the past five years and he deserved it.

Packing had become very easy for Trixie over the years. She used to get stressed out wondering how the hell she was going pack everything she needed in to a small duffel bag. She had now become so talented at packing in that Easton bag; she could fit two weeks worth of stuff in it.

By the time she had finished everything on her road-trip check-list, Trixie as in the middle of slipping her feet in to her converse when she notice Duncan had fallen back to sleep. His cell phone sat unattended on the glass coffee table. The wheels in her head began to turn as she picked it up. Normally she would have turned the alarm off but today, that for her would be too cruel. So, instead, she scrolled through his contacts list.

When name Kelly, became highlighted, Trixie couldn't help herself but press the edit button. Erasing the number that belonged to her, Trixie's fingers worked fast and replaced them with the numbers that belonged to Adam Burish's cell. Saving it, Trixie set the Blackberry back down on the table, knowing they would be having fun tonight.

By the time nine-thirty had rolled around, Trixie, Clint and Ryan found themselves working in an assembly line. Clint would toss the equipment bags to Ryan, who would toss them to Trixie where she could arrange them to fit in to the back of the truck.

They finished in under an hour and soon they were on their way to the airport. While wearing ear-plugs, the three moved quickly to load the bags now in to the plane. They were freezing and just wanted to catch a few hours of sleep.

Trixie always found Red Wings fans to be obnoxious and rude. From the second they landed at the airport, the trio was booed when they spotted their hawks attire. She just ignored them, hoping the boys would be able to shut them up when the won. It was colder in Detroit than it was in Chicago. Trixie soon cursed herself for forgetting her scarf and gloves.

In the visitor's locker room, it was her job to hand the white sweaters and name tags. Then she matched socks and made sure they had tape before pulling out the shoulder/chest protectors and hung skates.

After four hours, they finally finished setting up. It took forever but it was something she loved doing. She had just bought a coke from the vending machine out side the locker room when Trixie was approached by a man in a suit. Clint and Ryan had excused themselves to use the bathroom.

"Are you Trixie O'Callahan, assistant equipment manager for the Chicago Blackhawks?"

She was a little hesitant to answer. "Yeah."

"Ken Holland," he extended his hand to shake Trixie's. "General Manager for the Red Wings."

This conversation seemed slightly familiar. It started off the same way three ago when Dale Tallon had offered her this job.

"You probably may not already know this, but our equipment manager is retiring after this season, and as much as we would like to promote one of our own, we've been following your career with Chicago and we believe you would make a great addition to the Red Wing family."

Trixie scratched the bridge of her nose. "Are you offering me a job?"

"Yes," Ken chuckled. "I'm offering you the position of equipment [i]manager[/i]."

Now that caught her attention. In Chicago she was just the [i]assistant[/i] manager, but she was being offered the position of being manager. The first female equipment manager in the NHL. Sure, she was making good money with the 'hawks but, even with the raise she had been given, Trixie knew she would make double her current salary.

"I'll have to think about it." Trixie gave him an honest answer.

"Understandable." He reached in to the pocket of his suit and handed her a card. "Here's my card, give me a call after you've thought it through."

It all became clear now as to why Clint had told her about the raise she had been given almost a week ago. Stan Bowman knew Detroit was looking to hire her for a better position that she already has. He wanted to keep her around, in doing so he offered more money and more benefits. Trixie could never imagine leaving Chicago, but with all shit that's been going down this season, may be a job in Detroit wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.


	9. Best of me

_Reviews? _

Everything Trixie learned in life came from her father while they sat in the crowd watching the Blackhawks. It can all be summed up in two words; just two simple words. Detroit sucks!

It was a rough game, starting from the puck drop in first till now, the middle of the third. Eager found himself racking up eight minutes of penalty time for roughing, Duncan got two minutes for slashing, Kaner found himself in box after a cross check, Toews got in to a fight and poor Seabs took a slap shot to the family jewels. That for sure would be one uncomfortable ride back to Chicago for the defenseman.

Trixie was thankful and glad when she found none of the guys were treating her differently. She figured they didn't want to get their mind mixed on anything else rather than the current task on hand and she feared come tomorrow, Trixie would be the team slut.

Duncan had tried to get Trixie to talk to him, but when he asked her a question that didn't relate to anything hockey, she would give him one word answers. He was confused. Duncan thought that by telling Kelly she was the other woman and that Trixie was the he really fell for, she would giddy with bliss. He had gotten the total opposite reaction. But one good thing did come from it, he was able to take his anger and use it on the ice.

The score was 4-3, and as the minutes counted down on the clock a chant of "Blackhawks sucks" broke out amongst the Red Wings fans. What they didn't realize was by saying that, they were actually giving the boys more pride and energy and with just thirteen seconds left in the game; Kaner scored his second goal of the night.

They finished with a proud victory, finally beating Detroit after nearly they destroyed the 'hawks at the start of the season. And in just three weeks time, the Red Wings would come to Chicago where the boys now felt confident enough to beat them there was well.

There was still one thing the needed to work on while on home ice. They try to look all fancy for their fans and sometimes end up losing miserably. Needless to say there still was some animosity between the teams after they knocked the Blackhawks out of the playoffs last season. Trixie was just curious as to how Hossa felt playing against the team he been on last season.

If they were excited about the win, it surely didn't show in the locker room. Everyone was quiet as they undressed; only talking to the people around them. Trixie and Ryan were taking their time collecting and cleaning the shoulder/chest protectors and re-sharpening skates before putting the covers over the blades.

Stan Bowman was just the barer of bad news as he entered the locker room. Whistling to get all their attentions, everyone crowded around.

"As you all know," he raised his voice so they could all hear. "We were supposed to be staying at a hotel for the night and flying home in the morning, but we just got a call from the guys back in Chicago. There's a big snow storm headed this way and they are predicting all flights will be cancelled by the time morning rolls around."

No one minded; they just figured they'd be stuck in hotel room for another day. But no, the bad news just kept coming.

"So, to ensure we get you guys back to Chicago in time for Sunday's home game, we all are leaving tonight by bus." The over-grown teenagers groaned; the last thing they wanted to do was spend another four hours on a bus. Especially Brent, who was in the middle of icing his junk.

"Even us?" Ryan called out, wondering if the equipment staff would be stuffed on to the same bus as the players.

"Even you guys. So hurry it up we're leaving in two hours." Stan left the locker room along with Joel. Ryan and Trixie were the ones who should be groaning. They had to pack everything up in an hour in a half. The job alone usually took two.

Clint joined in as the two youngsters began to run around like chickens with their heads cut off. It was Trixie's job to fold the sweaters, clean helmets and protectors and packing them away. The bags were then loaded in to a truck where it would be driven by another member of the 'hawks team back to Chicago.

Bundled up in her wool coat and hat, Trixie slung her duffle over her shoulder as she loaded on to the bus with other players. Burish was in front of her and Sharp was in front of him thankfully. Now she wouldn't have to sit next to Adam. He had a tendency to not stop talking.

Trixie plopped her tired ass down in a window seat. She yawned big and untangled the headphones to her iPod. One invention she thank god for and probably the only thing that would get her through the four hour and forty-eight minute trip back to Chicago.

With her head pressed against the cold window, Trixie blew hot oxygen in to her hands in an attempt to warm them up. If she thought the winters in Chicago were bad she had another thing coming. There was no way she'd be able to survive in Detroit.

The seat next to her was open and the next person to step on to the bus walked down the aisle and dropped his bag on the floor and then sat down next to her. Half expecting it to be Fraz or Soupy, Trixie looked up with a whole hearted smile which faded when she saw who it really was.

Duncan too untangled the headphones around his iPod and he didn't even acknowledge Trix before he put the ear bud in his ear and turned the music up loud enough to drowned out the sounds of the bus. Kaner gave her a half, sympathetic smile that showed he probably felt bad that her life had just turned in to a complete mess.

It was well after midnight before the bus had even pulled out of the Joe Louis Arena and by three a.m. Trixie had fallen asleep with her iPod offering some sad lullabies. The vibration in her pants pocket was what woke her up. Still lethargic, Trixie rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned while pulling it out. She thought it was from Adam but when she turned around, he was sound asleep using his jacket as a pillow.

Trixie read the name and then sunk deeper in to the seat. It was from Duncan and the words were the lyrics to one of her most favorite songs.

_I'm sorry. It's all that I can say. You mean so much and I'd fix all that I've done if I could start again. I'd throw it all away, to the shadows of regrets and you would have the best of me._


	10. Another turning point

It was New Years day and Trixie sat alone on her couch watching the NBC pregame of the Winter Classic. She hadn't gotten home until nearly five in the morning and when she went to lay in her bed hoping to get a few more minutes of sleep, Trixie just ended up tossing and turning. With nothing and no one but her cat Lilly keeping her company, Trixie found herself alone and drowning in her own pity while she ate peanut butter and Oreos.

Her father was the game in Boston. Born in Charlestown he felt it was his civic duty to attend the Bruins game. Trixie would have gone with if it hadn't been for the stupid game last night. She had thought about opening the bottle of red wine sitting on top her fridge when her phone rang. Not wanted to answer it she looked at the caller ID. It was Burish, she had to answer.

"Hello?" She just sounded depressed.

"Put done that jar of Skippy and that half eaten bag of Oreos. I don't give a shit if you're just wearing those black sweat pants and an old tee shirt. Put your shoes on and get your ass over here."

Wow…Burish knew her better than she thought.

Nothing else between them needed to be spoken and with that, Adam hung up the phone. When the line went dead Trixie pressed the END button on her pink blackberry curve and stood up. Deciding it would probably be best to do what Adam said, Trixie slipped on her shoes and jacket and headed down to her car.

He only lived a few miles away from her in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in a row of very expensive and new townhouses. Parking on the street, Trixie hugged her jacket closer to her body as she jogged up the front steps and rang the bell.

Adam answered the door quicker than she had expected him to. Sporting a pair of sweats and a NHL tee, it wouldn't be proudest moment if only his fans could see him now. Walking in, she slipped her shoes off at the door and followed him up a few steps in to the front room. She thought for sure Sharp and his fiancée would be there, but when she found the house empty Trixie just lounged on the couch.

A bowl of half eaten popcorn sat on the coffee table and minutes later Adam returned with two bottles. Handing her a Smirnoff ICE, knowing she didn't beer, he sat on the couch and maneuvered her legs so they rested in his lap. Trixie took a long sip from the grape flavored drink then shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth. "Who do you thinks gonna win?"She asked. The same hockey game that had been on her television set was also on Adams.

"Philly, no doubt." Adam took a swig from his beer then stole the popcorn from Trixie's lap. He knew the bombshell sitting on his couch would be rooting for the Bruins. Burish had to push her buttons.

"If the Flyers win, I'll tape your sticks for a week, and it the Bruins win—" Trixie was cut off.

"I'll clean your apartment for a month." He was pretty sure the Flyers would win.

They shook on it. Trixie was excited her house would finally have a chance to get cleaned. Nothing in that place has been scrubbed in over a month.

The game started well, each team shooting well but the Bruins weren't shooting the puck. Adam and his big ego got in the way at the start of the third period. The Flyers were up 2-0, and by this time, the two were sitting on the floor rooting for their team. Not a whole lot of alcohol was flowing through her veins, but just being in the presence of Adam Burish was making her feel drunk.

He was sitting close to the young woman, his thigh touching hers. At one point Trixie had rested her head on Adam's shoulder and closed her eyes while inhaling the smell of his. Brushing the hair off of Trixie's forehead to get a better look at her eyes, he noticed the color was gone. They weren't icy and blue like they had been for years. It was the first time he had seen them pale, and dull, almost lifeless. She was hurting, and she was hurting bad.

"Can I kiss you?" Adam's voice was just above a whisper. He had always wondered what it would be like to kiss those red, pouty lips.

"Yeah." Trixie bit her lip after her answer. She could tell he hesitated for a second before leaning down and gently pressing his lips to hers.

The kiss was dizzying for both Adam and Trixie. She felt the room spin in circles and her stomach did somersaults as she felt his tongue slid across her lower lips. Granting him an entrance, their tongues explored one another's mouths while they danced and tangled with each others.

Trixie's hand rested lightly on the back of Adams neck as they continued to French-kiss. It was no feeling like before, having Adams lips on hers while his tongue dazzled hers. He was defiantly more skilled at this tasked than Duncan was, who was a million miles away from any one of her thoughts.

Using all his upper body strength, Adam pushed the coffee table forward where it slid with ease across the hardwood floor and crashed against the entertainment center. Keeping their lips locked together, Burish slowly eased Trixie down to a laying position. His hands wondered down her body where they stopped on the elastic waistband of her Target brand sweatpants.

Their lips separated as Adam pulled them down, along with her panties and tossed them to the side. Trixie felt absolutely no shame in being half naked in front of Adam Burish, in fact, it felt natural, for the both of them.

Adam was fascinated by the plethora of stars, hearts and swirls tattoos that decorated her lower abdomen and hips; she was without a doubt a punk-rocker, a look which Adam had always fantasized about. He kissed her bellybutton and used his teeth to gently yank at the barbell.

Trixie ran her fingers through his lengthening brown hair as his lips moved farther and farther down her body. Adam winked as he positioned himself between her legs. Trixie knew what was coming and there was no way to prepare for the amount of pleasure her body was about to over come.

The thoughts she had were suddenly washed clean from her mind as Adam used his fingers to spread her hot folds as he used the tip of his tongue to tease her swollen and sensitive clit. Trixie gasped and tangled her fingers in his hair as she tossed her head back and allowed a moan to escape her lips.

Over and over his tongue flicked the bud, before wrapping his lips around it sucking ever so gently. Adam continued to add more pressure and suck harder all while enjoying the reaction he was getting from her. He found himself getting hard just listening to the delicate noises Trixie was producing. His skilled tongue had her cuming in no time, and when he finished, Adam kissed the soft skin of her tummy as she caught her breath.

Trixie looked at the television as she wiped sweat beads from her forehead. In the time it had taken Adam to eat her out and give her a mind shattering orgasm; the Bruins had tied the game 2-2 and won in overtime.

"Ha," Trixie moved her head to face Adam, who held a shit-eating grin. "You have to clean my apartment for a month."


	11. Do you believe?

Trixie wiped the blood away from her nose as an ever forgiving Patrick Kane followed her in to the locker room. She had warned him countless times about that high stick, and finally today was the day he wacked her hard in the face.

The warm, crimson liquid flowed fluidly through both nostrils and dripped down her face and on to her white cotton v-neck. In the bathroom she grabbed a wad of paper towels and gently pressed it up to her injured face.

"I am so sorry, OC." Kaner removed his helmet and turned on the water, wetting himself a towel. "I didn't know you were behind me."

He and Toews had been practicing their slapshots in the hall, because after all, that's exactly where you practice them at. Trixie had been occupied with the task of collecting broken sticks when Kaner reached back and popped her right in the face. He had been warned countless times about his stupidity.

Reaching over the bent woman, Kaner dabbed the wet cloth on her stained tee, trying to saturate it before it set. He was getting too close to her right breast for comfort, which led Trixie to smack his hand away.

"Next time look behind you." Trixie immediately regretted opening her mouth when the blood trickled on to her tongue and left that coppery taste.

Patrick truly did feel like an idiot as he watched Trixie pinch the bridge of her nose in an attempt to stop the flow. It somewhat reminded him of a volcano. Silently he prayed her nose wasn't broken. It didn't take much power to break small bones in the face with the blade of a stick. He knew from past experiences.

It didn't take long for the other guys to congregate around the bathroom. They were redressing after a night skate, the boys had the next day off to sleep and recharge their battery before the Red Wings were to make an appearance in Chicago.

Adam pushed past the guys and grabbed Patty by the collar of his practice sweater. Tossing him out of the tiny bathroom, he mumbled profanities to the twenty-one year old and closed the door. With Trixie still slightly bent over the sink, Adam watched in sympathy as he held her long hair back. He knew how badly it hurt to be struck in the face with a twig.

The bleeding seemed to be under control and stopped when Trixie tossed the final bloody tissue in the trash can. Her skin was stained with a reddish tint and crusty blood was found around her nostrils.

"You okay?" Adam gently stoked her hair as she turned on the faucet. Cupping water in her hand, Trixie wiped her face clean.

"Yeah." She sounded nasally which caused Adam to chuckle. Her face winced and her smile dropped even more when she saw her reflection. Lightly she pressed her fingers to her swollen and bruising cheekbone. "I'm supposed to go out with the girls tonight and now I look like you after a fight."

Adam took offence her statement. "Excuse me, but I believe it is not I who comes out of a fight all bloody and bruised." He pushed some hair off her neck and placed small tender kisses on her sensitive skin. "Besides, I think you rather sexy like that."

Trixie's cheeks burned red as his kisses sent chills up her spine. It had been three weeks since they "hooked" up. Trixie found herself head-over-heels for Mr. Adam Burish and he found Trixie to be rather intoxicating. He loved the feeling of her soft skin beneath his callused fingertips and he loved the feeling of her warm lips kissing his. Trixie just absolutely loved falling asleep locked in his arms at night and waking up to his sweet kiss in the morning.

Finally this was a chance for Trixie to love and be loved.

Although it was the hardest thing she had ever put herself through, the twenty-two year old had to put Duncan in her past. Since he reconciled with Kelly, she knew she had to. For once she was the one who was seeing clearly. It wasn't fair to either of them.

And while Trixie seemed to be doing okay with her decision, the night she told Duncan they were just 'friends', he didn't seem to like that idea. Now it seemed he was taking his anger and animosity out on the ice and a certain Adam Burish.

"You are just too sweet." Trixie turned around and placed a simple, small kiss on his lips…

…and a simple, small smile appeared on his face. "How late are you gonna be tonight?"

She licked her lips and looked up. It seems she has taken a semi-permanent residence at Adam's townhouse. Most of her cloths were sharing space with Adam's in his dresser and he even found himself picking up some of the food she likes on his frequent shops to the corner grocery store.

"I shouldn't be too late. They have to be back in Champagne tomorrow night."

Hearing her say that made Adam suddenly feel full of pride. He was able to rope a girl who was mature for her age yet young enough to still be in college. After all, it was her college friends who she would be drinking with tonight.

"You have your key?" Adam leaned his forehead on hers, not knowing how long he would be able to stay up to night.

"Yes, I do."

Adam kissed her lips and playfully spanked her ass. "Have fun."

The bar was loud and girls found themselves yelling over the horrible choice of music that poured from the speakers. They were at their favorite bar, The Goose, on Lincoln Avenue. Sam, Stephanie and Valerie had been Trixie's best friends since their first day of kindergarten at St. Benedict.

The three of them had gone off to U of I where as Trixie stayed back in Chicago for obvious reasons. Christmas break was over and it wouldn't be until the summer where they could see each other. Trixie both hated and loved the fact hockey season took up most of the school year. She's normally too busy to even think about missing her friends, but, those lonely night's in hotel rooms can catch up.

"You have to come down and visit us next." Sam passed Trixie a shot of tequila.

She quickly shot it, and then set the glass down. "I can't, not during hockey season."

"Hockey season!" Her three friends rolled their eyes and said in unison.

They hadn't had that much fun together in what seemed like a long time. Last summer Sam was off planning her wedding while Valerie and Stephanie were off tanning on some exotic island. Some time's Trixie wished she could vacation for months at a time during the summer. Her _summer vacation_ was scheduled around the playoffs and she had to be back in Chi in August for training camp.

Shots and girly drinks were going down their throats like water, and being with the boys for so long, Trixie had built up her tolerance to alcohol.

"That guy is totally checking you out." Valerie pointed a guy out to Trixie as they did another around.

She followed her friend's finger and saw who she was pointing at. A small, flirtatious smile crept over Trixie's lips.

"You should go up to the bar and get us another round. Show him what you've got." Sam gave Trixie a small push, and she fully obliged.

Leaning up against the bar, Trixie ordered four more tequila shots. It seemed the alcohol finally hit her when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist.

Adam Burish leaned his lips to Trixie's ear. He too had liquor flowing through his veins. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

Trixie turned herself around and leaned her lips to his. "Yeah, I do."


	12. Sweet home Chicago

With another victory against Detroit, Trixie found herself being spun around on the ice by Adam. Although he still wasn't cleared by the doctor to play after his injury, that surly didn't stop Burish from dressing and sitting on the bench with his teammates. Her legs were wrapped tightly around his waist and her fingers threaded through his growing hair. Smiles were not only plastered on the faces of the two young lovers but, on the faces of all the boys.

Beating Detroit twice seemed to have finally closed the wounds from last season's playoffs. When Adam set her back down after a kiss, Trixie watched with pure joy and bliss as he joined his teammates on celebrating on the ice. The one good thing about this being a home game was that they could go out and celebrate and a bar and it wouldn't take the crew almost two hours to pack up the locker room.

She earned many dirty looks from the ice crew girls as Adam came back over to her and plopped a big on her lips. She grinned, almost feeling the jealously radiating off them.

Duncan celebrated with Kelly. This was the first time anyone has seen her since the big blow-out between she and Trixie. He looked across the ice where Adam and Trixie were, feeling that ball of anger growing in his stomach, Duncan suppressed it. He put on a smile for Kelly. After assuring her there were no long any feelings between the two. But, Kelly did have her doubts after Duncan was quick to take Trixie's defense after she called the twenty-two year old a puck slut.

_"You better watch your mouth," Duncan snapped at his fiancée. "She's not any less apart of this team as I am. Without her, we'd all be lost."_

Trixie was still high from the events that took place earlier that day. With only an hour and a half until game time, Adam finally found the balls to approach Trix and tell her he wanted a real relationship with her. Out of all the guys on the team, Trixie figured Adam would be the last person she would end up with. She really wasn't sure if Adam had the qualities she was looking for in a man; seeing as to how Duncan had been the only man she had really ever been with.

But she was rather impressed with Adam. He was voted "Ladies Man" of the team, and yet, he hadn't once asked Trixie for sex in almost four weeks. She was sure that's been the longest Adam has ever gone without getting laid.

Sharp was the only one who Adam had told about his relationship with Trixie, but it was obvious to all of the guys what was going on between the two.

After they took their showers, dressed and spoke to reporters, Trixie too changed from her sweats and tee in to jeans and a sweater.

"You ready to go?" Adam came up behind Trixie and placed his hands on her hips. She had been organizing the boys' sticks.

Turning around, Trixie tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear. "Yeah."

**  
Trixie had been quite most of the night at the bar. They could all sense it and yet didn't know why. This was a girl who was always laughing and talking, spilling profanities worse than a truck driver. She downed shot after shot and played countless games of pool with Patty, who claimed to be the "Pool King of the East Coast." Trixie soon stripped him of his title and proved she was possibly the "Pool Queen of the Midwest."

The music was loud and so was the chatter. Duncan sat at the bar with Kelly who had no interest in joining the other couples as they danced to a slow song that had been picked on the electronic jukebox. It killed Duncan to see Trixie dance with Adam to that song. It was their song, the song that just so happened to be playing on the radio in his car as he held Trixie in his arms and made sweet, passionate love to the then seventeen year old.

He wanted to puke, as he watched Adam rub his hands over her hips. He was sure he saw the look in Adam's eyes; the one Duncan had seen before. The one that said he'd fuck the girl then run. He knew Trixie deserved better than Adam Burish, but deep down Duncan felt like he had swooped down to Adam's level. He fucked Trixie and then ran.

Noting the glint was half gone in her eyes, Adam's heart slightly broke. He lent his lips to Trixie's ear and spoke loud enough for only her to hear. "What's wrong, baby?"

She knew this was one thing she couldn't hide from Adam forever and he deserved to know. He could be the one that impacts her future. "I was approached by the GM of the Red Wings. They offered me the job of equipment manager for next season."

He was taken back, knowing this was an opportunity she would be stupid for turning down. But at this point, they were still in the bliss stage of their relationship and he didn't want her going anywhere, without him…especially to Detroit. Adam knew it would be good money. "Is your heart in it?"

Trixie thought for a second, she was a Chicago-girl, she felt like she would be betraying her friends and father if she took that job. "Nope, my heart's in Chicago." She looked around at the boys, seeing them laughing, smiling and drinking. "I have all I need right here."


	13. Tazer is not gay

Dropping his bag down by the door, Adam tossed his keys on to the table and was welcomed by the heavy smell of acetone. He found Trixie sitting at the kitchen table, clearly concentrating at the current task at hand. The left ear-bud to her green third generation iPod nano was secure in her ear and the cap of a fairly bright sky blue shade of Sally Hanson polish was in her right hand.

"What do you think?" Trixie shook the earphone out of her ear and held up her hand. She was always polishing her chewed nails or dying her hair. This month it was bright shade of red.

Grabbing a Gatorade from the fridge, Adam popped a few Advil's, the workout he and Sharpie had just finished made his knee rather sore. "The color suits you. Beautiful and unique."

Trixie never imagined Adam as the romantic type; but he was always dropping sweet nothings that just made her insides tingle. It made her feel seventeen again. Noticing she too was still in her workout cloths, Adam was surprised not to see her showered and beautified. Seabrook was hosting a Charity Bowling Tournament tonight and Trixie had been invited as well as the guys.

"How was yoga class?" Adam kissed her cheek and examined her work.

"Very good; relaxing." Trixie wiped some excess blue polish off the skin of her ring finger. "Kaner's really gotten the hang of it."

Adam was still in total disbelief that Trixie had some how managed to persuade both Toews and Kane to accompany her to her weekly yoga class. Tazer had first started going with her a little over a year ago. Once Captain Serious was able to convince Patty-Cake it improved balance on his skates, he's now been going for the past six months.

"I always knew Tazer was gay. Kaner's just going to pick up chicks."

Trixie screwed the cap back on the nail polish and smiled grimly as she stood up. "Believe me, Adam," he found it odd when his first name rolled off her tongue. He was so used to her just calling him Burish. "Jonathan Toews is by no means gay."

She walked up the hardwood steps to the bedroom, leaving Adam in the kitchen to ponder her statement. Trixie had just entered the room when she heard Adams heavy steps run up the stairs.

"You slept with Toes?" Adam followed Trixie in to the bathroom where she turned the shower on. He knew she had slept with Duncan but not Tazer. "When?"

"Halloween." Trixie stripped herself of her yoga pants and tank top. Her bra and panties followed. "You and he dressed up in those Dumb and Dumber tuxedos."

Stepping to the hot shower, Trixie stepped under the hot water. She let the water slid down her body as she wet her hair, preparing to wash it. Hearing Adam leave the bathroom, she had no idea how big the flame of jealousy was that flicked in his nauseous stomach. Trixie thought it was a harmless statement; nor did she have any intention of upsetting him.

The coconut scent of her shampoo and conditioner filled the moist air in the bathroom as she turned off the shower. After stepping out she dried her face off with a towel then wrapped the plush material around her full frame. Her back was turned from the mirror as she peeked her head over her shoulder. Trixie caught a glimpse of the new ink that decorated her right shoulder blade. The skin was still puffy and sore. Written in perfect cursive letters [i] Chicago Blackhawks[i]. She promised Adam she would only get the hawk head on the left blade if they won the Cup.

It was by far her favorite tattoo.

Trixie found Adam lying on his bed with his hand covering his eyes. With another towel Trixie rang the water from her hair. "You can get in now, babe."

He didn't say anything. All Adam did was roll over and walk into the bathroom, not without slamming the door. _Whatever_, Trixie thought. He'd surly snap out of it. Dressing in jeans, a tank top and a zip-up hoodie, Trixie didn't bother with a tee. Brent had ordered them each a Blackhawks bowling shirt.

Deciding to go with curly hair tonight, Trixie crossed her arms over her chest and rested her hip on the wall waiting for Adam to exit the bathroom. She heard the water stop running so it would only be a matter of minutes before he walked out.

With his bottom half wrapped only in a towel, Adam was surprised to see Trixie standing there, face-to-face. She finally realized it was her Tazer comment that had not only pissed him off but created jealousy that should not be there.

He had no time to react when Trixie pressed her lips to his for a quick kiss. "I love you, Adam Burish."

Feeling lightheaded, he watched as she turned on her heels and left the room. All his oxygen was stolen from his lungs as he opened his mouth and whispered. "I love you, Trixie O'Callahan."

It scared Adam to say those words. He had never said them to any of his "girlfriends". Now, if only he could find the balls to say it to her face.


	14. Not just a four letter word

Adam always knew he wanted a girl who could shoot whiskey and swear when appropriate. He wanted a girl who wasn't afraid to give him a slap atop the head and even pull pranks with him. This girl had to be there when he needed his eyebrow iced after a fight during the third period and he needed a girl who would be there waiting for him when he returned home from a long road trip. He needed a girl who understood his hectic and crazy lifestyle and schedule, and wouldn't become jealous and angry when he wasn't able to answer his phone or text messages.

In Adam's mind, Trixie was the perfect girl. The girl he needed, the girl he wanted and the girl that would fit perfectly in to his not so normal life. She was there, catering to his every need when he was cooped up in bed after his knee injury. Putting her life on hold so she could grocery shop and clean his apartment before she left with the team for Finland. She wasn't afraid of a fight and beside the boys and her girls downstate, Jack Daniel was her other best friend. Her mouth was worse than a truck drivers, yet, an f-bomb was never dropped around a person of authority or her parents.

She lived the same lifestyle he did. Never home before eleven pm, almost always dressed in nothing but sweats and a tee and most of all, Trixie has, and will always be there for him while their on the road. Whether it be there late night skinny-dips in the hotel pool, or a night of poker in the Burish/Sharp room. Trixie had iced his swollen eyebrows and kissed away his heartache like no other woman had before. She was smart, beautiful and over all the woman for him.

Her laugh was infectious; and as he sat at the bar with his teammates and new love, Adam kissed her cheek and pushed a lock of hair behind her multi-pierced ear. She had beat his ass in to the ground while bowling. Proving once again that she was a girl who should not be shit-talked to. Because in the end she really will make you eat your words.

Patrick could see something different in his friend as he watched him with her. Adam had never before enjoyed spending so much time with a girl. He never listened to the words that exited their mouths and Patrick even found Adam actually enjoying a conversation with his girlfriend. It even surprised the rest of the team to find out they haven't even slept together yet. The boys had voted Adam to be the first one to sleep with Trixie. Only, Duncan had beat him. . .by almost six years.

"You two look so cute together." Laura traced her finger along the rim of her shot glass and eyed Trixie carefully. Trix wouldn't somehow shake the fact that Laura really didn't like her. In her mind, Trixie just thought she was being paranoid. It was one of her goals in life to make as many people as she possibly could happy. And that could be where she had forgotten about her own happiness.

She could smell the liquor spilling from Adam's pores and he lent down to kiss her lips. Trixie blushed from his act of PDA, it wasn't something she was used to. "She is cute, isn't she?"

A small, uncomfortable smile appeared on the lips of Laura. She turned to face Patrick who, clearly by the glassiness of his eyes, had a blood-alcohol level over .08. "You ready to go home?" She asked.

Patrick finished what was left in his bottle. "Yeah."

They all threw down a few bills to cover the cover the tab then headed out. Trixies head was light from all the booze and her body was warm thanks to the wool jacket hugging her curves. She held Adam's hand and laughed at the man as he failed to flag a cab. Tired and finally having enough, Trixie pushed Adam to the side. A sly smiled curved her lips as she unbuttoned the top buttons of her jacket and tousled her hair. Pouting her lips and placing a hand on her hip, Trixie raised a hand. Not two seconds later where there nearly four cabs trying to pick her up.

"Normally I have much better luck picking up cabs." Adam let Trixie get in first then he gave the cabby his address.

"Why don't we go back to my place?" They spend pretty much every weekend at Adam's, Trixie figured they could bring the party back to her apartment.

"Alright." Adam gave the cabby her address instead and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. They were both quite, knowing full well what was going to happen when they got up there.

***

Once inside, Trixie tossed her shoes off her feet and slung her jacket over the back of a chair. Adam followed her lead. He didn't want to mess anything up. Yesterday had been his last day of cleaning her apartment and he'd be damned if anything got mess up. Adam watched from his spot on the couch while Trixie opened a bottle of wine and poured two glasses. He loved the way her body fluidly moved. No matter how tried or drunk she was, she never stumbled or fell.

After setting both glasses down on the cherry wood coffee table, Adam grabbed her hips and pulled her down on to his lap. Drunken giggles escaped her lips as she came tumbling down. His lips connected with her neck, where Adam kissed and sucked at the sensitive skin. He could feel her pulse quicken with every breath she took and she once pale skin became increasingly flush.

Trixie's hands trembled as her fingers laced themselves tightly in his lengthening hair. From her neck, Adam's lips trailed up from her jawbone to her lips, where they finally connected in a sweet kiss. It surprised Adam when she was the one who traced her tongue along his bottom lip. Normally he was the one who made the first move but tonight, it became clear Trixie was the one who wanted to be in charge.

The unopened pack of birth control pills was lost forever in Trixie's mind as she straddled Adam's lap and slowly peeled his shirt off. She tossed it behind her and then cupped Adam's cheeks and kissed his lips. He could feel that ball of strange emotion welling in the pit of his stomach again as his hands slipped up Trixies shirt. Her shirt was gone too, and Adam stopped her before she attached them at the lips again.

"I love you." Adam, himself had a hard time believing the words that escaped his mouth. He had never said them out of true feeling before. They were only placed in Adam's vocabulary to get a girl in bed with him. But tonight, Adam didn't care if Trixie fucked him. All he really wanted was to be able fall asleep next to her at night.

"I love you, too."


	15. In which a promise is made

Trixie always knew the real story behind her real name, but that didn't stop her from loving it any less. Beatrice Portinari was Dante's true love and the woman who guided him through hell. Her mother, a lover of classics and former sophomore English teacher, had filled out the birth certificate while her father—who wanted his new born daughter to be named Hannah—was getting food from the cafeteria.

Dante and Beatrice had met at the tender age nine and didn't see each other again until eighteen. Both were married and Beatrice had died young. If that was everlasting love, Trixie wanted no part in any of it.

Whenever Trixie complained to her father, he said Nicolas Cage had named his son Kal, Superman's Kryptonian name, and that she should be nothing but grateful. But, in her high school years, Saint Benedict was booming with Allison's, Dakota's and Caitlyn's. Trixie had spent a large portion of her life pulling her teachers to the side telling them to call her Trixie when it came time to role call. The sound of the name Beatrice made all the _normal_ kids burst with laughter.

It wasn't until the age of thirteen, when her brother had first come up with the name, did she finally adopt the name Trixie.

"Beatrice?" Kaner tried his best to hold back his laughter as Trixie stuffed her Illinois State ID card into her wallet. They were in the process of buying liquor from the local liquor store and the old man behind the counter didn't believe either of them were at, or over the age of twenty-one.

Trixie, putting her matching Juicy Couture wallet into her black Juicy Couture bag, grabbed the six pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade while Kaner grabbed the brown paper bag containing a bottle of Jager. "Would you like your beating now, or later?"

She stood at a height of 5'7 and weighed 175 pounds; (of almost pure muscle) Patty cake knew he didn't stand a chance. "I'll shut up."

It was their last night of partying before the six men left for Vancouver. With another game on the road and a victory against the Devils, this called for celebration. The boys had gotten permission from the road manager and their Coaches, so tonight; they were all taking limos into New York for a night of clubbing. It wasn't a long drive from their hotel in Jersey, and everyone was excited.

Trixie even made sure she charged her camera. This was to be a night she wanted documented. And, on top of all the excitement, today marked four weeks for the young couple. It was on record, Adams' longest relationship.

The cold air chilled Trixie to the bone, even though she had her wool jacket on. Kaner tried wrapping his arm around her waist, which he said was for warming purposes, after Trixie told him to watch where he put his hands.

There was a slight history between the two youngsters. They tried dating, but, unlike she and Adam, there was just no flame. The two never slept together but there was that love between the two of them. He would with no question do anything for Trixie. Pat loved her as a sister and Trixie loved him as a brother.

"You seem really happy, with Adam." Pat jammed his left hand in to the pocket of his coat and thanked God when the hotel came in to sight.

"That's because I am." Trixie bit her lip. "I've have never been this happy, with anyone before." She felt kind of awkward saying that in front of Kaner. It was still painfully obvious to her that Patrick still had the slightest crush on her. He was still always asking her out on dates and dropping hints.

"Did you feel this way when you were with Duncs?"

She had to think hard about that one. Patrick usually wasn't the one to throw out a question that involved deep thinking; that was Jonathon's job. "The feelings I had for Duncan were completely different. I was young and naïve when I hooked up with him. It was infatuation; the thought of sleeping with a professional hockey player is what kept bringing me back to him."

Patrick was quiet for a moment then cleared his throat. "I'm a professional hockey player."

"So is Adam."

***  
Back at the hotel, the elevator ride to the seventh floor was silent and the doors and opened and binged, they stepped out, going their opposite ways. "Remember, you've only got an hour, Trix."

"Pretty boy," she called out. "It takes you more time than me to get ready."

"Yeah, yeah." Were the last words that exited his mouth before disappearing in to the hotel room he shared with Jon. Trixie was still dressed in the same sweatpants and Blackhawks tee from the game. When they realized they had no booze, Kaner and O.C had been elected by the team to head out and buy some after the locker room had been cleaned up.

Knocking on door 756, Trixie didn't have to wait very long until someone answered. Adam, who was only in his boxers, opened the door and combed his wet hair back with his fingers, Trixie leaned up and pecked his warm lips. "Thank God, you don't smell like a foot anymore."

"That's the best hello I think I've ever gotten." Letting Trixie in, he lightly spanked her ass as she walked past.

"Where's Sharpie?" Trixie set the bottle of Jagermeister on the dresser and pulled her ponytail tighter.

Adam walked over and wrapped his arms around her middle. It had been a week since they started sleeping together, and both Trixie and Adam were pleased to find the rumors they heard about each other true. Trixie had never had so many orgasms back to back before and— believe it or not—Adam had never had sex handcuffed to the headboard.

_"This is pretty damn fun." Adam's face was flush and his muscles were sore. "Most of the chicks I've been with are boring; it's just plain old vanilla sex."_

Trixie was a sexual girl and she wasn't ashamed of it.

"In the shower," Adam took her earlobe in his mouth and sucked it. "We could probably have a quickie before he's done."  
Trixie giggled and lightly pushed Adam away. "Baby, with you, there is no such thing as a quickie." Her attention was brought back to the bottle sitting on dresser. "Look what I got."

Grabbing the neck of the bottle Trixie lifted it out of the bag and waved it in Adam's face. He laughed; knowing how messed up that shit made Trixie. They were all in for a good night if that's what she planned on drinking. "This'll be a fun night."

She stuck her tongue out and Adam grabbed it with his index finger and thumb. Trixie flicked his nose. "Ow!" He cried out. "That actually kind of hurt."

Closing the gap between the two, Trixie got on her tippy-tops and kissed the tip of his nose. "Better?"

"Nope," Adam kissed her lips with a loud smack and pulled back. "Now it does."

Trixie heard the shower turn off and decided to head out and give the boys some privacy to get ready. "Alright, my love. I should head to my room and shower. I smell almost as bad as you."

Adam lifted his arm and smelled his pit. "I don't smell that bad," and then shoved it in Trixie's face, "do I?"

She laughed out an Ew, and a Gross before pushing him away. Adam only smiled as he escorted her to the door. He opened it, and once she was in the hallway, pressed a kiss to her pouty lips. "I love you."

Trixie began to walk down the hall and thickened her already thick Chicago accent. "I love you, too, cheese head." The last thing she heard was Adam's laughter as he closed the door behind him.

***  
After showering, and making sure every part of her was cleanly shaven, Trixie lathered her already smooth skin in lavender body butter. Since reading an article in Cosmo that the smell of lavender increased a male's sex drive, Trixie had gone to Bath&Body Works to stock up on lavender lotions, body washes and bath bubbles.

Like always, she put on her face, but decided to go with natural colors. Usually when she went out, it was heavy eyeliner with caked mascara and blood red lips. Tonight was brown eyeliner, champagne eyeshadow, minimal mascara and a coat of peppermint lip gloss. She blow dried and flat ironed her hair—where it reached mid back, and dressed in a sheer black blouse and light wash jeans.

Knowing tonight would be filled with nothing but alcohol and dancing, she decided against her favorite pair of black heeled boots, and went with her old and ratty Converse. Trixie spritzed on some of her favorite Chanel perfume and headed down the hall to Adam and Patrick's room.

When she entered, it smelled of expensive aftershave and she found Adam and Patrick fighting over the mirror. "You two are worse than a couple of girls."

Adam's jaw dropped when he saw Trixie. It had been so long since beautified herself like this. Going out during hockey season meant grabbing a beer at the bar in your sweats on the weekend only if you weren't too tired.

Picking her up bridal-style, Adam walked her over to the bed and dropped her, where he climbed on top of her on all fours and kissed her neck. "Sharpie, you go on without us. I think I'm going to spend a night in with my sex kitten."

The couple could hear Sharpie make gagging noises in the bathroom. Trixie pushed Adam off of her and stood to her feet, pushing her hair behind her ears. "Sorry, but, I'm going to NYC with the boys. I'm sure there's porn on pay-per-view."

Adam reached up and poked her belly, knowing full well she was ticklish there. "You really think I'd miss a chance to party with my girl in the big apple for a blond bimbo on the tube?"

"Just testing." Trixie leaned down and kissed Adam.

There was a rather loud knock on the door and Sharpie opened it, letting Versteeg, Madden, Kane and Toews in. The seven of them would be sharing a limo tonight. Kris was wrapping a song he had most likely written back in his room and no one really paid any attention as John opened the bottle of Jager and poured seven shots.

He handed everyone a glass and they lifted them in to the air. "Here's to a night we shall never forget, but never remember."

The first place they stopped at in New York was a small bar. They had already finished nearly half the bottle of Jager and Kris took it upon himself to pop the bottle of bubby in the limo and passed glasses around. At the bar, they only paid for half their drinks. Just as they were about to leave, some fans, who had just been at the Devils-Hawks game offered to pay half the tab in honor of their victory.

It was no surprised when Kaner and Versteeg picked up a few girls at the bar. Already halfway shit-face, they invited the girls along for a night of dancing. The ride to Poisson Rouge was once again filled with laugher and booze. Things really started getting fun when Kris, Patrick and John took off their shirts; showing off to the new girls.

Trixie remembered the camera she stuck in her clutch and started snapping photos. These were surely something they would look back at in the morning and laugh their ass off to.

When they arrived at the club, Troy, Duncan, Brain, Seabs, Marian and Tomas met them at the door. After showing ID's and getting their hands stamped with a dolphin stamp, they headed in and straight upstairs to the VIP section. Up there, there was a private bar and it looked over the dance floor. Trixie was just excited about heading down to the floor.

After a few more O-bombs and silly pictures, the speakers of the club flooded with the club remix version of Lady GaGa's _Poker Face_. Seeing as to how the two had gone to see the rising star last summer at the House of Blues, Kaner grabbed Trixie's arm and led down the stairs and to the middle of the dance floor. Other's followed, but Burish and Keith and Hossa stayed upstairs and watched over the balcony. Adam really didn't know how to feel as he watched Kane place his hands on Trixie's hips as they moved with the beat.

"You really shouldn't worry about those two." Duncan looked over at Adam, who sensed some jealously. "They're just friends."

It was the first time Duncan had really said anything to him about Trixie. Lately the only conversations they've had were about hockey.

"You still love her?" Adam had enough liquor in his system to finally get the balls to ask the dying question. It felt like a thousand pound weight had been lifted from his chest, but he still feared the answer.

"I'll love her until the day I die." Duncan watched as Trixie's hips moved fluidly through the air and under Kaner's fingertips. Even from up there he could see the boys face blushing from how close he had Trixie's ass to his most likely erecting cock. "I know for a fact I'm marrying the wrong woman. How stupid was I not to put the ring on her finger?"

"Pretty damn stupid Duncs." Adam did feel bad but he wasn't going to sympathize with the guy. He had; after all, broken Trixie's heart in to a thousand pieces and it was Adam who had put it back together. If anyone deserved to put a ring on Trixie's finger, Adam thought, it was him. And, that was exactly what he planned to do…when they won the cup in June. Adam was sure they would, he could feel it in his bones.

Adam looked down to the dance floor and acknowledged Trixie as she smiled and waved for him to come down and join her. Placing a hand on Duncan's shoulder, Adam leaned his lips to Duncan's ear. "You hurt her again and I will punch every fucking tooth outta your head. That's a promise."


	16. Finding it hard resist

She wasn't sure what time she had actually climbed in to bed, but once Trixie saw the time on the clock, she frantically shot up and threw the blankets off. Whatever hangover she would have had was gone thanks to the ridiculous amount of adrenaline that pumped through her veins. Trixie was in her room alone as she began to strip herself from the previous night's clothes. In her underwear, she washed her face and brushed her teeth, leaving her hair in the knot tied up atop her head. She was sure it was supposed to be a bun, but in her drunken state last night she was surprised she even made it to her room.

It was nine-forty-five a.m and she should have been down in the lobby of their Jersey hotel ten minutes ago. Hopping into a pair of jeans, Trixie tossed a flannel shirt over she shoulders and slipped her room key into her pocket, before jogging down the hall to the elevator while buttoning her shirt up. She wasn't shaking from how sick she felt, she was shaking from fear. Not knowing what kind of ass chewing would be awaiting her from Stan or Joel about being late. Her biggest fear was being fired from the only job she actually enjoyed doing.

Ryan was patiently waiting in the lobby when Trixie finally arrived. Twirling the keys to the rental car around his finger, Trixie stopped him short before he had the chance to open his mouth and question her lateness. They had five minutes to get to the arena before the six Olympians. She thanked every God she knew that the pair had sharpened skates and tapped sticks the night before. Their equipment was clean and packed and ready to be shipped off to Vancouver.

With thirty-seconds to spare, Trixie and Ryan made it to the arena and already found a few guys there. But, none of them looked nearly as bad and as hungover as Trixie.

"Oh, man," Brent laughed as he spoke. "You look like you've been run over by a semi."

"Shut up." Trixie was quick to snap back earning a few quiet snickers from Duncan and Jonathan. Patrick, however, did look as bad a Trix. She could tell by the way he was holding his head and had his eyes closed, trying to block out the sunlight.

"You don't seem to be suffering as bad as Kaner though." Jon pointed his thumb over to his friend. "He puked three times last night and downed nearly a whole bottle of Tylenol."

Lightweight. Trixie thought.

Heading into the arena and the locker room, they did one more check of all the packed equipment before they started handing it over to the guys. Trixie picked up two bags and checked the numbers written on the strap. 19 and 88.

Handing them over, Kaner and Tazer slung them over their shoulders. Patrick gave Trixie a hug goodbye and they kissed cheeks. Being aware of his hungover state, she whispered in his ear. "Bing us home a gold."

"Oh, I will." Patrick smiled and sluggishly walked out to the awaiting bus.  
Now it was Jon's turn. After a hug and a kiss she offered some words of courage as well. "I think you guy's will have no problem winning a silver. The Canadian's put together a pretty good team this time around."  
Jon's laugh was dry and fake. "You can shine the gold for me when I get back."

Trixie was so sure the Americans would be bringing home the gold; she had to challenge Captain Serious. "If you guy's win the gold, I'll tape yours, and Duncs and Seabs sticks for a week."

A sly smile spread across his lips. "You're on, O.C."

Once they shook hands, Trixie was quickly regretting her decision to not fly up to Vancouver to watch the hockey games. When she heard to roaster for the Canadian team she backed out. There was one person who she was trying to avoid, and surprisingly enough, it wasn't Duncan Keith. Trixie had been praying for the longest time to catch the flu during this month, at least before the recent Stanley Cup winning team came to Chicago.

Next it was time to say goodbye to Brent and Duncan. Seabrook handed Trixie a box wrapped poorly in Christmas paper. "Don't open that until the gold metal game."

"Alright." Trixie set it on the ground momentarily so she could hug the two men goodbye. She never thought she'd say this, but, Trixie was actually going to miss Duncan while he was gone. The man was so high matnice and meticulous about his equipment, Trix was going to feel like she really wasn't doing her job without him around.

"Wish you were coming with us, Trix." Duncan let go of her and stood back to examine her up and down. He always found her rather sexy when she wasn't all made up.

"Me too, but, we've got practice Thursday." Liar. Trixie wasn't about to tell Duncan freaking Keith about her boy problems.

As they all left, Trixie found herself alone in the locker room cleaning up and getting everything ready to be flown back to Chi. Ryan said it was least she could do seeing as to how she was late this morning. But Ryan did promise her a Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks. She had been in the midst of packing sticks when a voice from behind scared Trixie, and caused her to drop them all on the floor.

"Fuckin' a Duncs," Trixie placed a hand on her chest. "You scared the shit out of me."

A toothy grin spread across his lips. "Sorry."

"Did you forget something already?" She joked.

It took Duncan a second or two to answer. "Yeah, I did."

What had surprised Trixie the most was Duncan placing a hand to the back of her neck and drawing her closer to him. She fought for a second, but gave up when he placed his lips softly against hers. Trixie's eyes fluttered shut as she melted in Duncan's arms. Her chest hurt from her quickening heart rate as he slid his tongue past her lips and teeth to entwine it with her own. She could taste the French Vanilla Cappuccino on his tongue and Duncan could taste her Marlboro Red and the spearmint from the gum she had been chewing.

As fast as he had pushed his lips against hers, he pulled away. Resting his forehead against hers, Duncan still continued to hold the back of her neck. "Adam Burish is not good for you."

She wanted to tell him how wrong he was, but, she couldn't. Because before she could he let go of her and headed back outside. Normally Trixie would have felt something in a kiss like that from Duncan, but she didn't. Or, at least that's what she kept telling herself. And if she wanted to keep the peace between the two teammates, this was defiantly one of those things she could never, ever tell Adam. After all, even in the most serious relationships, everyone has their own dirty little secret.


	17. For sure

"He's really asking about me?" Trixie moved her blackberry from her right ear over to left. The comment had come out a little louder than she had hoped; it caused many other customers to glance in her direction. "When the hell did you see him?"

"Last night at the bar," a lisped voice poured in to her eardrum. "We had gone out to celebrate and well, the Canadians were drowning their sorrows in liquor after we beat them." Patrick had been lounging in his hotel bored, until Trixie gave him a call; congratulating him on last night's win.

Trixie browsed the aisles of the Sports Authority on Clark St. looking for the ice skates. With one day left until Valentine's Day, it was her mission to find the perfect gift. And she was determined not to go home empty handed. It was the third store she had been to the past two hours and Trixie would be damned if she didn't leave with the skates.

"Excuse me, where are the ice skates?" Trixie asked a young teenage blond who seemed to have no idea where anything was in the store. All she did was point behind her.

"What?" Kaner didn't know if that question was meant toward him, and growing up with three sisters he knew better than to ignore a woman when she asked a question.

"I asked some airhead where the ice skates were and I'm guessing she hasn't been working here for very long." Trixie began to walk in the direction the employee pointed her in and knew she was getting close when the hockey gear came in to sight.

She could hear a shuffling noise come from the other end of the phone; Trixie guessed he had just gotten out of bed. It was rather early in the morning, ten a.m. to be exact and already the store was flooded with people. She had seen a handful of girls walking around with Kane and Toews sweaters ready to be purchased.

If only they knew who she was talking to, Trixie thought.

"You getting Adam those skates for V-day?" He asked.

Trixie thanked the Lord when she finally found the wall littered with rollerblades and ice skates. Now it was only a matter of them having the brand and style she was looking for. "Yes, he's been dying to have them since they came out last April and with his knee injury he doesn't seem too eager to rush out and get them. And being the good girlfriend I am I figured I'd shell out the money and buy 'em so he can break them in before Doc clears him."

All they guys were ready to have Burish back on the ice and boy was he dying too. Just for the hell of it sometimes he and Trix would head out in to the ally and shoot pucks into a recycle bin. Kaner cleared his throat. "When is he coming back?"

"March 7th. Q's had him out on the ice a few times, skating around and practicing. He looks like a kid on Christmas every time he laces up." Trixie almost did a little dance right there when she saw the Vapor X60's were in fact in stock. With her index she browsed the stack of boxes for Adam's size.

Sitting on the bench Trixie removed the skates from the box and examined the couture and sharpness of the blade. They had already been sharpened to 7/16", and for Adam's height and weight, he needed them sharpened to 3/4". Plus the curve of the blade was off; to Trixie it looked as if she would have to get them sharpened before tomorrow. And having some one else do it for her was out of the question, when it came to sharpening her own skates, or anyone else's for that matter, Trixie trusted no one's work than her own.

"Have you seen my camera?" Trixie thought she'd slip that in to the conversation. She realized it was missing a few days ago. The last time she saw it was when they were in New York.

"Negative," Kane replied. "Although I'm sure it's around that disaster zone you call an apartment."

That slightly worried Trixie. Everyone she had asked had said the exact same thing. "I fucking hope so; because that camera contains shirtless photos of three forwards."

Feeling a bit curious, Trixie found her size and decided to try them on. It had been nearly half a decade since she last bought a pair a skates, and Trixie figured she deserved nothing but the best.

"Have you told Adam about Detroit yet?" Patrick knew it was a touchy subject, but he had to ask. After declining their first offer, the Red Wings came back with another. They doubled the original salary and promised a raise if she would stay two seasons. She told them she wouldn't have an answer until the playoffs. Although it was still too early to tell how far they'd go; it would be a definite no if they won the cup. Plus, with trade rumors already floating around the league, Trixie wanted to see what happens with Adam first.

After her father was traded to the Devils, Trixie's mother had warned her that the stress of a trade was a true test for a hockey wife/girlfriend. And just that thought was what scared her father. Jack would hate to see his baby girl throw away a booming career in Chicago and move far away from her hometown.

"Not yet. I don't want to tell him until I've made up my mind. I don't want to stress him out anymore than he already is; he needs to focus on himself and helping you guys get to the playoffs." Trixie slipped her foot in to the skate and quickly realized what the big hype was about them. They were comfy as shit and looked cool.

"Alright," Kane sighed. "Well, I'm gonna have to let you go, my mom is bugging me to show her around Vancouver."

After their goodbyes, Trixie stuffed her blackberry in to the pocket of her pea-coat. She slipped her shoes back on and carried both boxes to the register. Trixie had intended this to be a day of shopping dedicated to Adam, but she couldn't pass up a pair of skates like this.

"1,610 even." The dark haired boy behind the register bagged the boxes and pressed a button on his keyboard. She hadn't realized these were an eight-hundred dollar pair of skates. Swiping her debit card and signing, Trixie once again reminded herself—again—that she needed to check the prices of things before she bought them.

Grabbing the white bag from the cashier, Trixie headed out to her car. She pulled out of the parking space just as the meter ran out. The last thing she needed was _another_ parking ticket. Stuck at a stop light going south on Clark, Trixie pulled her phone from her pocket and opened a new message.

_Burish_  
_Are you at the UC?_

A response came quickly.

_Burish_  
_Yes. Up in the weight room w/ Sharpie. Almost done. Are you coming tonight?_

Although it was illegal, Trixie still texted while she drove.

_Burish_  
_Okay. Of course I'm coming. You really think I'd miss it?_

In honor of Valentine's Day tomorrow, tonight the Chicago Blackhawks were hosting their version of the Newlyweds Game in a banquet hall at McCormick Place. The contestants were Troy and Colin and of course their wives. As for Adam, he was hosting.

Trixie parked her car down the block in hopes of not being seen by Adam. This would be only chance to sharpen the skates today and she wanted him to be able to wear them when they went ice skating tomorrow. Sneaking through the back door using her keycard, Trixie was surprised to see how many of the guys were there using the open to their advantage. Sopel and Madden had brought their kids with them for an open skate where as Niemi was working with the goaltending coach and Ladd was taping sticks.

"What are you doing here?" Ladd reached past Trixie for another roll of tape. She tied her hair back as she turned on the sharpening machine and took the skates out of the box.

"Sharpening skates for Adam."

Andrew smiled. "We're on a first name basis now. It must be getting pretty serious."

"Shut it, Laddy." Trixie joked.

"I rest my case."

Trixie had just finished putting the freshly sharpened skates in their box and the Sports Authority bag when Adam and Patrick entered the locker room. They were sweaty and gross and Trixie fought hard to keep Adam from bear hugging her.

"What are you doing here anyways?" Adam was forced to refill his own water bottle after Trixie refused to. It was her day off after all. "I thought you were out shopping."

"I was." She knew she had to come up with a good lie. "I bought a new pair of skates for tomorrow and I had to sharpen them." It wasn't bad one either. She really did buy herself a pair, but, she didn't have time to sharpen them.

"Cool." Trixie was relieved he bought it.

The couple hung out for a few minutes, spending some time alone seeing as to how Trixie had left this morning before Adam had even woken up. She could help but notice how oddly he was acting. Adam seemed distant and nervous and Trixie just hoped no one told him about Detroit. The last thing she needed was for him to be made at her over the fact she had told Kaner instead of him. But sometimes Patty was the only one she could go to when a problem was weighing her down.

"Are you just gonna shower at my place before that thing tonight?" Adam tossed this bottle in to his bag and slung it over his shoulder. They were getting ready to leave.

Trixie couldn't. She had to go home so she could wrap his gift and hide it. She had every intention on making it a perfect V-Day. "I'm gonna shower at my place and how about you come and pick me up before we head to Rosemont."

"Whatever works for you." Adam kissed Trixie before they went their own ways.

After unlocking the door to his black Ford SUV, Adam tossed his workout bag in to the backseat. Letting himself sink deeper in to the driver's seat, Adam pushed the key in to the ignition and just sat there. A blank stare was held on his face as he watched the snow fall on to the windshield of his car. Without even thinking about it, Adam reached over and opened the glove compartment, pulling out the robin egg ring box he had stashed in there just three days ago. His heart rate was steady—which was a positive sign to him—as he opened the box.

Staring back at him was a Tiffany & Co. diamond ring. It was platinum; just as Trixie loved. It was a rare diamond, cut oval and as the sales lady told him, "it would make it hard for her not to say yes." Adam really hoped so, seeing at to how he spent three-hundred-thousand dollars on it.

It wasn't an engagement ring; but he already had the one he wanted in mind. This was a promise ring, to show Trixie how much he truly loved her and how serious he was about finally settling down. Although there were no kids in that future thought, Adam knew a wife would be good enough. For him, it was too early to get down on one knee and ask her for her hand in marriage, and besides, he knew he wanted to purpose to her on the ice after a game. He just didn't know when. But for now, this ring was good enough and he was more than ready to take the plunge.


	18. Alternative plans

His eyes fluttered open the second he felt the vibration go off in his pocket. Adam fished his cellular device out and dismissed the alarm knowing he had to get up. There was no practice today nor a workout scheduled with the trainers. It was Valentine's Day and Adam was sure to make it the best damn one Trixie has ever had. If only he knew this was the first time in five years she would be spending the day with the one she loves.

Slowly peeling the heavy duvet off his shirtless and sweats clad body, Adam could hear Trixie's light snoring signaling she would be out for another good hour or two. His warm feet pressed against the cool hardwood floor as he exited her room—which was tastefully decorated in shades of black, white and lilac—and in to the front room. A small wall separated the small kitchen from the room and Adam wondered why Trixie still lived in this rather small apartment even after all the money she had made between the past two seasons. Then he realized she had been living here since she was eighteen and was in no hurry to move. It was a fairly comfortable to live.

The very first thing he did, like every morning, was turn on the tube and catch the hockey highlights. Adam was always keeping tabs on other teams. It was fairly cold in the front room that February morning. Trixie had turned off the space heater before heading to bed and Adam couldn't get it on fast enough.

It took Adam five minutes as he searched Trixie's kitchen high and low for the coffee. He finally found them sitting right in front of him on the kitchen counter. Feeling accomplished, Adam pushed the brewing coffee pot back in its corner on the counter and raided her pantry for pancake/waffle mix. He remembers quite clearly that Trixie didn't enjoy eating pancakes; she was a waffle person.

Only managing to get the powdery mix all over half her kitchen, Adam mixed the thickening mixture and prepared the morning meal. Occasionally he reached over to scratch the head of Trixie's feline friend. The black and white cat had been the runt of the little and her small size proved it. Lilly had been around for three years and in Adam's opinion, the cat was the same size today than when Trixie first got her.

Cleaning up his mess and plating the food he had prepared, Adam balanced two plates on one arm and held the handle to Trixie's favorite coffee cup. It was filled to the brim of hot black coffee. He could never understand why she liked it black, but that her preference.

Careful not to spill any syrup or coffee on her white duvet, he set the thick, green ceramic plate on the bed and the coffee on the nightstand. Adam looked at Trixie for moment, taking in the way her hair fell over her face and how her chest rose and fell gracefully with every sleeping breath she took. It was hard to believe that the innocent looking woman was the same wild child he had fallen in love with nearly a month and a half ago.

Sliding in to bed, with the plate now resting on the nightstand with the coffee, Adam stroked a lock of hair form her milky forehead and pressed a light kiss to the skin. She stirred, only lightly, before groaning and pulling the blankets tighter around her body.

It was early, but Adam wanted her to eat before they headed out. "Trixie," he whispered. "I made you breakfast."

He didn't know whether it was the swirling scent of waffles and coffee, or, his voice that had woken her up. Her eyes fluttered open and a big yawn escaped her mouth. Stretching her arms above her head, Trixie settled and wrapped her arm s tightly around Adam. "Did I hear something about breakfast?"

Adam again kissed her forehead and giggled silently to himself. Reaching over he grabbed the plate and handed it to her once her back was firmly propped up against the headboard with the pillow resting at the small of her back.

A pleasing smile and an I Love You came from the happy young woman. Adam had prepared them just as she liked her waffles. Lightly buttered, heavy syrup and dusted lightly with powered sugar. "Did I mention how much I love you?"

"I believe you did." Adam shared some of waffles he had cooked and was even impressed with himself at how good they had come out. He didn't know whether or not he wanted to give Trixie the ring now or not. The time of day seemed too early, he'd rather wait until she was out of her lethargic state. Maybe tonight at dinner would be the perfect time. If he didn't chicken out.

"I have something to give you." Trixie handed Adam the empty plate and pushed herself out of bed. Dressing in only pink sleeping shorts and a red tank, the cool airs caused goosebumps to form on her delicate skin. She had stashed the gift away in her closet last night and Trixie could feel Adam's eyes follow her.

She handed him a white bag, littered with hearts and filled with what seemed to be a never ending supply of tissue paper. Adam wondered what the hell could be in there that made it so damn heavy.

Biting her lip softly, Trixie watched as Adam sat up and placed his feet to the floor. He began to pull at the paper moving it around until he pulled out the box containing his new Bauer Vapor X60 skates. "Holy shit!"

Trixie placed the bag on the floor and took a seat next to him. "You like 'em?"

Putting the box to the side, Adam grabbed Trixie's cheeks and placed a big kiss right on her pouty lips. "I fucking love them. Thank you, so much, baby."

Adam looked like a kid on Christmas as he tore through the box. Trixie cleaned up and watched him as he examined his new skates. "I already sharpened them so you can wear them today."

**

Adam was first to step foot out on the ice at Millennium Park. He reached out behind him to grab Trixie's hand as she followed behind. Their gloved fingers laced and both found it enjoyable to be skating with someone who actually know how to.

The past few Valentine's Day Adam had spent them trying to teach his then girlfriend how to keep her balance on the ice. With Trixie, the two were staking around and playing tag in no time. There weren't as many people there as they had expected, but still Adam wore his aviator shades and a Cubs hat.

Being a born and raised North Side girl, Trixie made Adam retire the Sox ball cap and made him by a Cubs one. Now, if only she could get him to stop rooting for the Packers.

Grabbing a hold of her hips, Adam spun the two in circles until they both finally fell due to dizziness. Their laughter can out in white clouds in front of their faces and Adam loved the way Trixie's red nose looked in the cold. For a second he thought about reaching into his pocket and giving her in the right there. But, he feared her answer and decided against it. Adam realized this had the only girl he ever felt nervous around. He was always afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing and he sure as hell didn't want to end up like Duncan; being somewhat miserable with the woman he's marrying.

They had gotten to the ice rink later that expected after spending a little too much time in the shower together after breakfast. Adam looked at his phone and almost panicked when he saw the time. Although their dinner reservations weren't until eight, Adam wanted to make sure Trixie would have enough time to get dolled up and cute. Plus, he wanted to be able to rehearse the speech he had thought out in his head one last time.

"You ready to get going?" Adam held out his hand and helped Trixie stand back up. The back of her navy wool jacket was covered in ice shaving. He dusted them off while she replied.

"It's only four o'clock."

"True," Adam lent his lips to her ear and spoke barley above a whisper. "But, its gonna be a long night so it might be a good idea to take a nap."

"Whatever you say."

**

Trixie put the finishing touches on her makeup as she sat at her vanity in the bathroom. With the drawers pulled out it reviled an impressive collection of cosmetics ranging from the Chanel counter at Water Tower to the Maybelline isle at the local Walgreens.

Slipping the plum babydoll dress over her head, Trixie was thankful to find a black cardigan. Adam had requested she wear her hair curly, and that's exactly what she did. She figured it was least she could do seeing as to how he was taking her to her favorite French restaurant. The Everest on La Salle was on the 40th floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange and it was usually pretty had hard to get an eight o'clock reservation any other day of the week let alone Valentine's Day. But Adam hadn't been shameless to use his Chicago Athlete card, and all of a sudden, a table had opened up.

"You ready?" Adam entered Trixie's bedroom to find her slipping her feet into a pair of black pumps and spritzing on perfume. He loved seeming her in dresses, and he wished she'd wear them more often.

"I am now." Trixie's crimson lips smiled and reviled perfect, white teeth.

Adam's heart pounded as he stood around and waited for Trixie to finish whatever it was she was doing the kitchen. His hand firmly griped the box in his dress pants and he'd be damned if she wasn't wearing the ring by the end of the night.

"Okay, now I'm ready." Trixie had begun to slip her coat over her shoulders when there was a loud knock at the door. She wondered who the hell it could possibly be, seeing as to how there were really only four people who ever showed up to her house. Three of them were currently in Vancouver and the other was standing right next to her.

Trixie opened the door and reviled a heartbreaking sight. Sam stood in her doorway, broken down and crying. Trixie pulled her best friend in to her apartment both truly concerned for her friends current emotional state and confused by her presence in Chicago. She was supposed to be in Champagne at the rented apartment five miles off U of I campus.

"Sam, are you okay?" Trixie lead her over to the couch and sat her down. Sam was a mess. Her cheeks were stained black from eyeliner and her brown hair was knotty. Adam stood off to the side shocked by the current scene.

"We're done. I'm filing for divorce tomorrow morning." Sam wiped the fallen tears from her eyes with the tissue provided by Trixie. "He's cheating on me. I came up today to see him and…and he was in bed with another woman."

Sam and Josh had only been married for a year. He was a medical student at the University of Chicago and the two decided to tie the knot before Sam headed south again for her final year at U of I. Despite what her friends had told her, Sam did something they told her not to.

"Sam, I am so sorry." Trixie engulfed her friend in a hug and allowed the twenty-two year old to cry on her shoulder. She felt bad and knew there was no way in hell she could leave her friend here alone while she and Adam went out. Trixie didn't even notice Adam slip away and in to her bedroom. "I'll be right back."

Trixie took the coat off her arms and walked down the short hallway to her room. She heard Sam settle on the couch with a bottle of wine and knew tonight wasn't going to go as planned. Finding Adam lounging on her bed flipping through the television channels, Trixie sat next to him and grabbed his hand.

"I'm really sorry we're not going to dinner tonight." Trixie's own heart was breaking. She wanted to spend a romantic night with her honey.

Adam knew how much Sam meant to Trixie, but, he too was disappointed about tonight's alternative plans. "It's okay; she really needs you right now."

"I love you." Trixie kissed Adam and left before he had the chance to reply. Once she was out of sight, Adam pulled the ring box from his pocket. Opening it, he sighed; knowing she wouldn't be getting it toning. Then Adam began to wonder if it would ever find its way on to Trixie's finger.


	19. Blame Mr Booze

Trixie woke up not in the arms of Adam Burish but those of Sam Gallagher. The floral patterned duvet was draped over both the girls and Trixie knew it was too early to be up. Sam's face was still stained black and her heart still ached for the hurting woman. She knew there was no way she'd be able to talk Sam out the idea of divorcing her husband, but she hoped Sam was sure that's what she wanted.

Sneaking out of the bed, Trixie followed her nose to the kitchen where there was a pot of freshly brewed hazelnut coffee. Adam was stilling on the couch already with his cup as he watched some of the Olympic Games.

After sugaring her coffee, Trixie folded her legs underneath herself as she sat on the couch. Reaching out for the half pack of cigarettes, Trixie lit and took a pull from it. Blowing the smoke in the opposite direction of Adam, she broke the ice. "Are you made at me?"

Adam slightly giggled and sipped at his coffee. "Frustrated, yes. Mad, no."

That answer really wasn't too assuring for the young woman. "Why are you frustrated?"

He was quite for a second, having to think of an answer. "I was just really looking forward to our night last night."

Trixie was sympathetic to him. She too had been looking forward to a romantic night with Adam. They don't come along often. "I'm really sorry, Adam, but, she really needed someone last night."

"Doesn't she have family around?" He didn't know why he was being such a jerk.

Trixie put the cigarette out. "None of them were really supportive of her marriage in the first place, and the entire time it would be an "I told you so" kind of thing."

"Whatever." Adam brought his green porcelain cup to his lips and sipped the scalding liquid.

"You know what," Trixie could feel her morning bitch start to spill. "You, out of all people should be the most sympathetic to her situation, seeing as to how I was the _only_ one who really seemed to bother taking care of you while you were injured. And right now, just like you, I'm the only person she can rely on."

Adam was shocked, needless to say. Trixie had never blown up on him like that. He opened this mouth to say something but the words just didn't seem to come out. So, Trixie took her coffee and headed in to her bedroom. "I'll be taking a shower."

Hours later after Sam woke up, the girls found themselves walking down Michigan Avenue with dozens of bags hanging off their arms. Trixie had tried her best to forget about the fight she and Adam almost had this morning and it severely bummed her out when he didn't even bother to say good bye to her. Maybe she was just being over sensitive. After all, that time of the month was coming up again soon.

After nearly four hours of shopping, Trixie and Sam loaded their bags in to the truck of Trixie's car and drove a good forty-minutes north in to Skokie, where they decided to stop at their favorite pizza place for lunch.

The Village had been their hangout as teenagers. It seemed like every Friday and Saturday night had been spent there eating pizza while she was in high school. Well, most Saturday nights were spent at the United Center.

The girls each ordered a cocktail and a decided on a large peperoni deep dish. They figured whatever they didn't finish they could bring home for dinner.

"When do you plan on heading back down south?" Trixie shoveled a forkful of pizza into her mouth.

Sam was hesitant about answering. She was embarrassed about what had happened. "I'm not going back."

"What are you talking about?" She eyed her friend suspiciously.

"I moved back a month and a half ago. Couldn't afford the last semester."

Trixie was beyond shocked. Sam had come from a family with money and with a husband who was about to begin his residency at Northwestern, Trixie couldn't wrap her finger around her friends problem. "Sam, you've worked your ass off for four years and now your just throwing it all away? Can't you get loans?"

"I know, but, I'll just have my credits transferred over to Oakton or something. As for loans, Josh told me not to bother and just come home because he missed me and wanted me here. Lying piece of shit."

"A month and a half. You've been living here for fifty days and you didn't once tell her. Do you know how much partying we could have been doing?" That helped bring a smile to her depressed friends face. "Shit, you could have come with me when the boys played in Jersey. We fucking partied our asses off in New York."

"Well, now I'm free to go to all the games." Sam stirred her drink with her straw and took a sip. "Speaking of hockey, I thought you were dating that one defenceman. The guy playing for Team Canada. Well, more like fucking, not dating."

Trixie began to blush and signaled the waitress they were ready for the check. "He wouldn't dump his fiancee so, I moved on."

"You are such a pimp."

Trixie and Sam had arrived back at her apartment to find Sharpie and Laura and Adam sitting on her couch. She dropped her bags on the kitchen table and wondered why they were there in the first place.

Adam could tell Trixie was still pissed about this morning and was the first to stand up. He placed his hands on her hips and lovingly kissed her chilled lips. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

"I'm sorry, too. For blowing up at you." Trixie used her thumb to clear Adams lips of the red lipstick she was wearing.

"Don't be. You had every right to be mad."

It was absolutely no surprise when the five of them found themselves sitting at the bar of Wellington's Tavern. It was close to Sharpie's, Burish's and Trixie's Lincoln Park apartments and it quickly became their hangout. Sam had tagged along, looking for a good night of drinking. After shots had been poured down their throats, Sam finally found the courage to say to Trixie what she's been dying to say all night.

"So, that is one hockey I wouldn't mind fucking." Sams voice was low enough for only Trixie to hear.

"Hands off killer." Trixie's words were slightly slurring together. "He's engaged."

"So?" Sam reached for another shot of tequila. "I believe you were fucking an engaged man too. Maybe there's hope for me."

"Patrick actually really loves her. Sorry, babe."

Sam ran her finger along the rim of her shot glass. The three women were left at the bar as their men left to chat it up with some female fans. Laura herself down another few shots as she rolled her eyes and warned Trixie. "Looks like they're bringing the puck sluts over to party."

Trixie usually didn't mind when the boys would bring over to drink with them, but for some reason Trixie found herself rather. . .jealous. Maybe it was a mixture of Adams ability to charm the pants off any girl and the fact some bleach-blond tramp had her hands all over _her_ man.

She could feel her heart begin to pound harder and faster with every flirtatious word the exited the mouths of both this new chick and Adam. Trixie had never felt surge of jealously before and after having enough she decided to show this chick who was boss.

"If you had half a brain, you'd walk away right now."

Adam knew the anger was welling within his girlfriend, but, at the moment, in his drunken state, wouldn't mind witnessing a girl on girl fight.

"Bitch, I wasn't even talking to you." With a badly manicured finger, she tossed a lock of her straw like hair off her shoulder.

Knowing the extent of her friends anger level and blood alcohol content, Sam couldn't help but antagonize the situation. "Are you really going to let her talk to you like that?"

Patrick and Laura stayed silent, and for a moment, so was Trixie. "No, I'm not."

Balling her hand into the fist she knew how to use, Trixie swung and her knuckles instantly began to sting the second her hand came in contact with the girls nose. She stumbled back, holding her bleeding nose. Adam, Patrick and Laura watched, stunned in silence as Sam laughed and followed Trixie outside.

"Should I follow her?" Adam asked.

"I wouldn't. Let her cool off." Patrick answered.

Outside in the bitter winter weather, Trixie hugged her coast closer to her body as she smoked a cigarette. She was shaking; she had scared not only the bitches friends but also herself. Never did she think she would let a simple emotion like jealously get the best of her. It had been years since her last drunken bar fight and she hoped she had finally grown out of it. Killing the rest of her smoke with the heel of her sneaker, Trixie felt her heart and stomach drop the second she saw the flashing blue lights.

"Shit."


	20. Surprise

"You know the last time I was in here, I was eighteen." Trixie leaned forward and allowed the officer to light her cigarette. "I was hammered, they got me on disorderly conduct. I think there may have been an assault charge in there."

Scott Collins, the arresting officer-and ironically her brothers childhood friend-pocketed his pack of smokes and gripped a bar with one hand. "Go figure."

Trixie had been in a holding cell for the past hour and a half alone. She was thankful for some human contact and the booze had finally left her system leaving her painfully sober. "How bad is it?" She was referring to the current predicament she found herself in.

"You have one hell of a swing." Scott laughed at his friends baby sister. "You broke her nose and she passed out in the ambulance so they're keeping her overnight at the hospital."

Trixie took a seat on the hard bench and blew out a smoke ring. "She pressing charges?"

"Surprisingly not. You're boyfriend offered her two sky box tickets to a game if she didn't."

"Well, having a good looking and semi-famous boyfriend really paid out in my favor." Trixie was ready to get the hell out the CPD holding cell and in to civilization. "When can I get out of here?"

"You were drunk when we picked you up so you have to stay a minimum of six hours before bail can be posted." Pushing his black long sleeve away from his wrist, Scott checked his watch. "You'll be out of here by eight."

It was only 1:30 in the morning.

"Thanks for the smoke." Trixie sank farther down on the bench as Scott left her alone to drowned in her own self-pity. She tried to make herself comfortable as she laid down on the padded bench. It wasn't her bed, but, for now it would have to do. She was tried and wanted to get some sleep.

Trixie really didn't know how long she was out for, but the second she heard the heavy door door down the hall open and slam shut, she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"O'Callahan," the donut loving officer who had printed and taken her mugshot stopped in front of her cell. Placing a key into the lock he opened the barred door. "You're free to go."

He escorted her to the lobby of the 20th district police department where she found Adam and Sam waiting for her. Sam had Trixie's coat draped over her arm as she nearly sprinted over to Trixie. Engulfing her in a bug hug, Trixie wrapped her legs around Sam's waist as she spun the two in circles.

"I've been worried about you for the past seven hours." Sam slid Trixie's coat over her arms and shoulders and ignored the markings on her pale wrists made by the handcuffs. Trixie had told the officer a million times they were too tight but he never bothered to loosen them.

The sun was already illuminating the skyline when they stepped outside. Adam draped an arm over Trixie's shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Lets not do that again, eh?"

Trixie nodded her head in agreement as the three of them walked down the snow covered sidewalk to Adam's car. Hopping in to the front seat, Trixie buckled her seat-belt and threw her feet on the dash. Her stomach growled loudly as Adam pulled out of the parking space and on to a ghost town Lincoln Avenue.

"Can we stop somewhere for breakfast? I'm fucking starving." Trixie tried to get comfortable but she couldn't; something was digging in to her lower back.

"We could, but we have to be at Johnny's Ice House for practice in twenty minutes." Adam laughed to himself when he saw her black inked fingertips. That shit never comes off.

Trixie rested her chin on her knees. "I completely forgot." Turning back towards Sam Trixie pulled her knotty hair up in to a bun. "You ready for your first hockey practice?"

Adam was nice enough to drive-thru McDonald's where each of the girls got a few breakfast burritos and for Trixie a large coffee. Trixie couldn't help but notice how off and quiet Adam had been acting since Sam showed up a few days ago, and up until now, Sam seemed different too.

They pulled in to the parking lot of Johnny's Ice House and three exited the car. Trixie bagged the trash as Adam started walking ahead of them. She just figure he was becoming anxious as he counted the days until he could start playing again.

Trixie was about to link arms with Sam when dropped a bomb. "I'm gonna catch the bus and go to my parents house."

She was devastated. The only thing that had brightened her spirits today was spending her day with Sam. The two hadn't spent this much time together since the summer they graduated high school. But Trixie could help but notice Sam and Adam had the same attitude and she put two and two together. "Did something happen between you and Adam while I was locked up?"

Sam put on a fake smile for her friend as she grabbed Trixie's cheeks and kissed her lips. "Every thing's fine. You know I love you and would never hide anything from you."

"I know. I love you too, but I gotta go. Call me later?" Trixie backed away from her friend as waved goodbye as Sam started down the street towards the bus stop. When Sam boarded Trixie continued to clean out Adam's car. He was never Mr. Neat and Tidy and his car proved it. Then she found what had been poking her back the entire car ride there. Trixie picked up the small blue box and opened it. She could feel every breath being stolen from her lungs when her vision set on the most beautiful diamond and platinum ring her eyes had ever seen.


	21. Diamonds are a girls best friend

Trixie was giddy with joy when she entered the empty locker room at Johnny's Ice house. The boys had already taken the ice and Ryan had prepared the equipment while she was outside. She would have to pack it all away but, at this moment she really didn't mind. Her heart pounded within her chest as she walked over to the ice rink. A sea of red and black practice sweaters skated across the ice as the boys scrimmaged. With six of the payers gone though, it just didn't feel the same.

Adam was sitting on the Plexiglas free boards as he on looked the practice. Every one could see how badly he wanted to get out there and play, but, knowing he could re injure his knee and possibly never play hockey again, Adam took the docs advice. It surprised him how skating only for a couple of minutes with Trixie on Valentine's Day had caused his rehabbed leg muscles to start aching and cramping.

With a bright smile plastered on Trixie's face, Adam knew something was up. She was by no means this happy this morning when he picked her up. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing." She was quick to answer. Now she knew why Adam had been so disappointed a few days ago. He had planned to pop the question at dinner. Trixie had no idea Adam was ready to be engaged, and by the looks of the size of the single princess cut diamond, he really was ready to settle down.

"I'll be right back." Trixie excused herself from Adam and walked back in to the locker room. With news like this, she just couldn't keep it to herself. Pulling the blackberry from her jeans pocket, Trixie unlocked the phone and looked through her contact list until she found the number she was looking for.

It only rang three times before he picked up. Trixie knew Captain Serious wouldn't stray far from his hotel or the ice rink and would, most likely, be able to talk.

"Hello?" He answered.

Trixie wanted to jump up and down and scream at the top of her lungs that Adam would be purposing but she knew she couldn't. So, instead, she looked around for any other Canadian players before speaking. "Adam deffein."

Jonathan knew it was big and secret news if she was speaking in French. It took a second for him to comprehend what exactly Trixie had said. "Etes-vous sûr? Comment savez-vous?"

"J'ai trouvé la bague dans sa voiture. C'est un Tiffany." She squealed the last part.

"Détendez-vous et ne soyez pas être trop excité. Vous et moi savons à quelle vitesse il peut changer d'avis." Jonathan didn't want Trixie to get her hopes up only to be disappointed in the end.

Before Trixie had a chance to reply Adam came walking in to the locker room, catching her off guard. "Je dois y aller, je vais vous rappeler plus tard."

Ending the call quickly, Trixie stuffed the phone back in to her pocket. "What's up?"  
She tried be calm and collected about the whole thing but it wasn't quite working in her favor.

"I didn't know you spoke French." Adam was suspicious and took a seat on the bench. He began to stretch his leg and watched as Trixie's cheeks began to turn red.

"When you work in an organization dominated by Canadians, I figured it would be a smart idea to learn the language."

Adam wiggled his eyebrows. "You want to hear the little French I know?"

Trixie was a bit hesitant to listen to what Adam had to say. "Sure."

"Je t'aime." It wasn't as bad as Trixie had thought it was going to be.

"Je t'aime aussi."

Standing up, Adam walked over to Trix and hugged her close and tight. He felt bad about what had happened last night, knowing full well there was something he could have done to prevent it. Just by holding her, Adam could tell something was off.

"What the hell is up with you." Adam pulled away and tucked her bangs behind her ears.

Trixie tried to hid her smile but failed. . .miserably. "Nothing."

Pulling away from Adam's grip she dug through Kris's bag looking for a sweatshirt. She pulled the Team Canada hoodie over her chilled arms and continued her best to be sly around him. Adam grabbed Trixie from behind and began mercilessly tickling her. "If you tell me, I'll stop."

Trixie refused to let the words spill from her laughing mouth as Adam's fingers dug in to her sensitive ribcage. "Never!"

Moving on to her neck, his teeth sank painfully in to the sensitive flesh. "Tell me, Beatrice Jacqueline O'Callahan."

Her chest was on fire from the all the laughing and the bite mark on her neck was pulsing. "I found the Tiffany in your car."

He stopped tickling her the second those words slipped her lips. "What did you find?"

"I found the Tiffany engagement in front seat of your car." Trixie tried to catch her breath as Adam pushed his hair behind his ears and took a seat on the bench. He cursed himself for being so careless with the ring. It was in fact the engagement ring he and Sharp had picked out yesterday. It was a classic Tiffany, with a large princess cut diamond in the middle.

Looking at the schedule he knew there wouldn't be really any down time for him to go and pick out rings. With the Olympics and vary little practices, this month seemed perfect. Adam hadn't even had the chance to give Trixie the first ring let alone purpose to her now.

"Yeah, that would be your ring." Adam stood up and left without saying anything.

Trixie knew she shouldn't have said anything. Knowing Adam he had his whole plan of how he wanted to purpose in his head, only to have it all crushed. Trixie wanted to cry, feeling bad that she let her curiosity get the best of her.

Adam reentered the locker room a few minutes later to find Trixie still standing in the same spot he left her in. Upon reaching her, Adam got down on one knee and took her shaking hand.

"Trix, I really do love you, and these past few months had really made me realize it. I need you, more than you'll ever need me, and I'd be stupid not to do this." Adam stopped for a second, "I was hoping I'd have more time to figure out exactly what I want to say but, things sometimes don't work out the way you want them to. So, Trixie O'Callahan, will you marry me?"

Tears spilled from Trixie's eyes as she nodded her head. "Yes, of course I will, Adam."

Reaching in to the pocket of his sweatpants, Adam pulled out the ring slid it on to her finger. It fit perfectly and with a little help from Trixie, Adam stood up and embraced his fiancee. He could feel her tears dampen the cotton of black tee as she laced her arms around his neck.

"Once the playoffs start I want that ring back, so I can purpose the way I really wanted to."


	22. Suspended

Back at the UC, Trixie finished sharpening the last of the skates while the boys showered and the ice rink was turned in to a basketball court. Members of the Blackhawk organization had been given complimentary tickets to tonight's Bulls game and of course Adam and Trixie had plans of making it a date.

After practice they would head back to Adams-which was slowly but surely becoming Trixie's permanent residence-where they would freshen up before heading to dinner and afterwords the game. Trixie had never really been a fan of basketball, but Adam enjoyed it and she figured it would be a good time to spend with not only him but some of the other guys.

With the diamond ring glittering on her finger, there was possibly nothing that could bring Trixie's mood lower. Although her mother was none to pleased about her fiancee being a hockey player, she still welcomed Adam in to the O'Callahan family with open arms as well as her father. Sam on the other hand, kept asking Trixie if Adam was really the kind of man she wanted to marry. When Trixie asked what she exactly meant by the question, Sam replayed, "He seems sneaky and may not be the kind of man you deserve."

Trixie just figured it was because she hadn't spent enough time with Adam because yes, at first Adam does come off quite strong with his antagonizing actions and smart-mouth. But Trixie assured her friend Adam's nasty side only came out on the ice.

Then she had to step back and think about what Adam had said about Sam to her today. After asking Adam if she should invite her friend to the game, Adam's response wasn't what she expected. "It's not a good idea. When the two of you get together bad shit happens. Just stay away from her, she's no good for you." Trixie figured he was still bitter about the bar fight that had landed her in jail.

It had been four days since she was locked up and Trixie was in knots over what consequence that followed. With two assault arrests Trixie knew how embarrassing that would be for not only her family but the entire league if that news leaked to the press. Plus she was still nervous about her damn camera which she had lost in New York. The pictures on there could bring the whole team down.

She had just finished Troy's skates when Ryan appeared beside her. "Stan and Clint want to see you in Stan's office."

The young woman could feel her heart rate increase the second those words left her mouth. Trixie felt she had jinxed herself. Today had been the only day since the arrest that she actually had given the consequences any thought. Handing the skates over to Ryan, Trixie left without a word and nervously headed to the elevators.

When the doors opened on the third floor, Trixie stepped out and had to force herself to walk down the hall. But thinking back to the beginning of the season when Patrick had been arrested and was given no disciplinary action, Trixie figured they would do the same thing to her as they had done to Patty. Give her a lecture on proper behavior.

Knocking on the heavy wooden door of Stan's office and the two men, who had been chatting, fell silent. Clint rose from one of the leather chairs in front of Stan's desk and stood. "Take a seat, Trixie."

She tried her best to keep her composer and she feared they could see her shaking. She had blocked out most of the lecture, she had received most of the same quotes Patrick had and she answered the questions they asked honestly. She nodded her head and randomly said "mhmm". But, Trixie had zoned out to much, and she didn't fully comprehend what Stan said her at the end.

"What?" Trixie asked, trying not to sound rude.

"We've decided the best punishment would be a ten game suspension."

Trixie began to feel light headed for she was in total disbelief. "Ten games? Most players don't even get suspended for ten games."

"We understand that," Clint began. "But, because this is not the first it has happened, that number was decided upon to ensure an incident like that will never happen again."

It became clear to both men that Trixie was upset and decided to try and end the meeting quickly. "The suspension starts March second and will go through March twentieth."

"I'm gonna miss Adams first game back." Her voice was slightly above a whisper.

"Trix," Stan paused. "You can still go to the games but you just can't be working."

She nodded her head to show them she understood what they had told her. Standing up to her feet, Trixie headed to the door and looked back at them. "I'm really sorry. I promise it will never happen again."

Deciding to take the stairs instead of the elevator, she made sure she took her time and ten minutes later she came strolling in to the locker room. Most of the guys were gone but the ones who were there sat quietly on the bench tapping sticks and packing clothes in to their duffel. They could sense the hurt and settling depression in her as she stood in the doorway. No words had to be spoken between any of them; Adam, Patrick, Andrew and Kris knew what happened. It wasn't until the four of them engulfed Trixie in to a big hug did she finally break down and cry.


	23. Oh, Canada

"Jesus, Trix." Adam opened the garbage can in the kitchen which reviled two empty packs of cigarettes. He took notice to the full ashtray sitting on the coffee table along with the carton on the island and the half smoked pack sitting on her lap. "You've never smoked this heavy before. Not even during the playoffs."

Her eyes were fixated on the television, not really paying attention to her fiancee, who had just walked through the door. With nothing but time on her hands all she's done for the past week was sit either on the couch or in bed and play NHL 10. Adam was getting to the point of unplugging the playstation from the downstairs TV and unplugging the XBOX from the TV in their bedroom and hiding them both.

Adam could count on one hand how many times she had left the house in seven days. Being suspended meant she couldn't even tap sticks or sharpen skates during practice. It took every once of self control not to march in to Stan's office and demand he lift the suspension. Adam, nor any of the guys had seen Trixie this down and depressed before. "Are you at least coming with us to watch the game?"

Trixie had forgotten. It was gold medal game tonight and just as they had all predicted, it was Team Canada vs. Team USA. From what Adam had told Trixie, the locker room at the UC had turned in to a casino. All the guys placing bets on who they thought was going to win. Trixie turned off the counsel, tossed the PS3 remote on the leather couch and stood up. She stretched her arms and nodded. "Yeah, let me go take a shower."

In the bedroom, Trixie made one last attempt to get a hold of Sam and ask her if she wanted to join them at the bar in Rosemont for the road watch. It had been the third time this week Trixie had called, and the first time she answered. After much begging and pleading and a promise of a free round, Sam reluctantly agreed. "Awesome, I'll see you tonight, babe!"

Finally with something to look forward to, Trixie stripped from her three day old sweatpants and Chicago Wolves tee before stepping in to the shower. For three days, her shower consisted of washing her hair in the sink and applying mass amounts of her Dove deodorant and perfumes. Since she had no place to be, why bother making yourself up.

Feeling fresh and clean, Trixie stepped out of the shower and on to a plush floor mat. The mirrors were foggy and steam rose from her pink skin. Emerging from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her frame and another in her hand, drying it, Trixie strutted over to the dresser. Removing her black, thick framed Prada glasses from their case, Trixie slid them over the bridge of her nose decided to give her sore eyes a break from the contacts.

She was just about to pick up her bottle of body lotion and give her body a nice lather when the blackberry on the dresser started to vibrate. Curious, Trixie looked over to the cellular device to see who it was. The caller was no one Trixie knew or was even once acquainted with, and the fact it was another female calling sent Trixie's stomach in to jealous somersaults.

"Adam," she yelled loudly from the bedroom. "Your phone's ringing."

It seemed to take no time at all from him reach the phone, but by the time he did the call had gone to voicemail. Adam accepted the cell from Trixie's hand brought in downstairs. Which she found rather odd seeing at to how Adam was one who called you right back.

Fixing the waistband of her lace boyshorts, Adam finally walked in the room and flopped right now on the bed. Searching for a cream bra to match, Trixie began to dig through a drawer. "Who's Gina?"

"She's a. . ." Adam had been caught off guard by Trixie's question. "She's my cousin."

Trixie didn't know if she should be concerned about the way Adam answered the question. Instead, she let it go and continued to get ready. The gamed started at three and it was already close to one. With everything that has been going on, Adam knew how sensitive her feelings were. "I promise you have nothing to worry about."

An hour later, Adam and Trixie showed up at the road watch each sporting the appropriate attire. However, Trixie was wearing the Team Canada hoodie that Brent and Duncan had given her on the day they left along with a Team USA shirt underneath. Adam was none to pleased with her choice of sweatshirt, and Trixie reminded him that if he planned on getting laid anytime soon, he'd let her wear the damn hoodie.

Around a bunch of put together round tables stood Sharp and his fiancee, Versteeg and Ladd and Madden and his wife. Trixie really hadn't spent much time with John and he was certainly one of the few she hadn't gotten to know over the season.

It didn't take long before drinks had gone down and before long, John and Trixie found themselves in a conversation. And some how their topic had turned in to a group discussion about their teams on NHL 10.

Standing behind Trixie, Adam wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You guys would just die of you found out who was on her team."

Now they wanted to know and Trixie wasn't happy with her choices either but she wanted to win the Cup. She figured she'd start easy then finish off hard. "first line is Madden, Hossa and Burish."

"Yeah, kind of figured that." Ladd finished the last of his beer and signaled the waitress it was time for another round.

"Then, Crosby, Sharpie and Buff, Jonny, Pat and Miller." She was pretty hesitant about announcing her forth line. "Sharp, Holmstorm and Eaves."

"Not only did you put me on the forth line, but my wingmen are two Red Wings!" Patrick seemed insulted.

"A girl has to do what she needs to win."

"It gets better, just wait and see who's on defense."

Now Trixie was hoping Sam would finally show up and save her from the blood bath. "Duncan and Seabrook, Soupy and Lindstorm and Sopel and Pronger."

"Pronger?" The said in unison.

"He maybe an ass," Trixie took her drink from Ladd. "But, he is a pretty good defenseman."

"At least you didn't pick O'Brien." Versteeg said.

"I was going to. But I couldn't with the salary cap."

Sam finally arrived at the bar halfway through the second when it seemed the game seemed to be heading downhill for USA. Trixie wondered why it had taken her so long to get there and finally she did there was visibly tension between not only she and Adam but Sharpie's fiancee as well. It seemed rather odd to Trixie. What would Laura have to do with whatever problem was going on between Sam and Adam. Trixie wanted to yell at the three of them to just grow up and get over whatever was bothering them.

Hoping things would get better was out of the question when during the third period intermission before over time started. Trixie's stress level was over the chart and finally she had to excuse herself to the bathroom where she could maybe calm herself down. If she hadn't already promised they guys she would watch the game with them today, Trixie would have just stayed home in bed watching movies and somewhat enjoy the peace.

She was only gone for a few minutes and when she exited the bathroom Trixie saw Sam and Adam in the corner by the bathrooms. They were clearly arguing about something and at one point Sam got in to Adam's face.

"What the hell is going on?" Trixie intervened hoping now they spill.

Both Sam and Adam became quiet upon hearing the female Chicago accented voice. Adam was the first to talk. "Nothing."

Sam shook her head and bit her lip knowing she wasn't in any position to spill to Trixie right now. "I have to go, Trix."

Confused, Trixie watched as Sam walked back over to the table where she grabbed her purse and stormed off. Over time had already started and the guys were too wrapped up the game to really notice anything going on between the three of them.

Trixie ran outside into the bitter cold weather without a coat in hopes of stopping Sam. "What the fucking is going on between you two?" Trixie tried her hardest not to break down but the tears began to flow anyway. "I can't stand the fighting between the two of you."

She knew she couldn't say anything and she knew it was a mistake for coming and all Sam could do was be there to consul a broken Trixie. "I really hope you don't make the same mistake I did. But if you do, Trix, you know I'll be right here for you."

Now Trixie figured Sam was just upset that she and Adam were getting married. So far a handful of people have already told her twenty-two was way to young to be getting married. "It's not life if you don't make mistakes."

"Whatever you say, Trix." Sam could feel the anger welling in her stomach and before the words exited her mouth she already regretted it. "Ask him who Gina is."

"Gina's his cousin." Trixie didn't know if she was trying to convince herself or Sam.

"Oh, Trix." Sam started. "Gina is Laura's cousin, not Adam's."

Trixie stood there dumbfounded. Not really sure how to react. She thought back to this afternoon when she called his cell. Why the hell would Laura's cousin be calling Adam. She was sure it wasn't because she was planning a surprise birthday party. "Is he cheating on me?"

Sam didn't want to say anything, knowing the answer was far more complicated than what the question asked. "You should ask him."

The cheers of disappoint and pride erupted from within the bar and could be heard from outside. Someone scored and the game was over, too bad Trixie was outside and missed it. "I gotta go, Sam."

Trixie turned on her heel and walked back in to the bar. She was emotionless when she looked up at the TV as saw Crosby had scored the game winning goal. Canada won and when she got back Trixie would have to tape their sticks for a week.

Adam was in the midst of taking shit from his Canadian friends, and the second he saw Trixie with her dark, emotionless pools, he knew he was caught and shit had finally hit the fan.


	24. Hard hit

It was like they were strangers the second they entered the bedroom. Trixie still in complete shock to fully comprehend what Sam had told her this afternoon and Adam was afraid to say anything for he didn't know what had been said or the extent of Trixie's anger.

They went upon their business, Trixie heading in to the walk-in closet where she grabbed their Easton duffel bags from the floor. Sure they had had fun this afternoon but now it was time to board a plane and head to New York where they would play the Rangers tomorrow night. Trixie had already gotten a text from Patty saying they were already on the plane headed to NYC from Vancouver.

Adam didn't want Trixie to stay behind in Chicago for the away games she would be missing, so, he took it upon himself to buy tickets for both home and away games. Trixie handed Adam his bag and he was utterly surprised to see she still wanted to go. "Thanks."

"No problem." Trixie didn't want to make a big deal out of anything and she decided not to touch the subject of Gina until they came back to Chicago. She didn't want to make this trip un-enjoyable for Adam and his teammates as well.

They packed in silence; Trixie neatly folding a few pairs of jeans along with a pair of pajama pants and tees. She packed toiletries for both she and Adam although they weren't sharing a room together. Adam make sure he had grabbed cellphone chargers and before heading downstairs he took Trixie's bag from her shoulder and slung it across his own.

After making sure her cat had enough food and water, they headed out in to the bitter cold air where they waited for a taxi to take them to the UC where they'll get on the bus and head to the airport. The ride to the arena was less awkward than the drive home from the bar. Trixie occupied her time by playing brick breaker on her phone and Adam just stared out of the window. It scared him how quite Trixie was. For all he knew she was concocting some outrageous plan to really fuck with him at the hotel.

Adam paid the cab driver when they arrived at the Madhouse on Madison. Normally Trixie would have grabbed his hand as the two of them walked to the back where the bus was waiting and being board by men they had just hung out with. Instead she walked ahead of him and smoked before boarding the bus.

She took a seat behind Sharp and next to Campbell. Sharpie turned around to face Trixie when he took notice their problem. "Are you not talking to Adam?"

"When I have something to say to him, I'll talk." Trixie just first wanted to rationalize her feeling before she said or did anything she'd regret.

When Adam boarded, Patrick turned and sat down. Taking his usual seat next to Sharp, he half smiled to Trixie, who tried her best to ignore it.

On the plane it was nerd central and Trixie couldn't help but get in on some of the action. Digging through her purse she found the Nintendo DS she had bought under the demand of Troy, Brian and Colin. With ear-buds in their ears the four of them battled out it out to good ole' fashion Mario Kart. Trixie had gotten her ass beat most of the time but unlike Tazer she didn't throw anything for spill profanities like a sailor.

In front of her sat Adam. He fell asleep quick and it pissed Trixie off that he had fallen asleep so quick and didn't even bother to ask if she wanted to talk about what she and Sam had talked about.

At the hotel, they entered the lobby to check in where they found the six Olympians had arrived already and were most likely sleeping soundly in their beds. If their flight hadn't been delayed for an hour and a half they would have made it there first.

Trixie's room was one floor above the guys and she decided to drop her stuff off before heading down to congratulate Seebs, Tazer and Duncs on their gold and Pat on his sliver. It was odd for Trixie, being here with the guys not having any work to do; only to watch a game. Normally she had a room to herself but tonight it seemed extra empty.

Taking the elevator down one floor, Trixie's first stop was Patty and Tazer's room. They were half asleep and Trix tried her best to cheer Kaner up. She reminded him that Hossa and Koppy had been eliminated early and they didn't even have a shot at the medal.

Seabrook and Keith's room was different. The two were wide awake and playing their PSPs.

"Let me see the medal!" Trixie demanded. Duncan took his out of his bag and handed it to Trixie. She was amazed, she had seen her father's gold medal countless times but she never knew the meaning of winning one until now. She handed it back. "You guys did fucking amazing and really, you deserve it."

Trixie made herself comfortable on Brent's bed as he flipped through the channels. "How were things in Chi-town while we were gone."

"A lot."

"Like what?" Duncan urged Trix to go on.

She held up her hand to show off her ring. "Adam and I are getting married."

"No fuckin' way!" Brent half laughed. He sat up from his lying position and jerked Trixie's hand in his direction. "I never thought he'd be getting married."

"Well, as of today I don't know when exactly the wedding will take place."

Now it was Duncan's turn to laugh and the point where the conversation was dropped. The three of them had been watching TV and lounging like old times when Trixie's cell vibrated; she had a text.

_Burish_  
_Sharpie's gone, we need to talk. _

Trixie pocketed her phone and shot up. "I'll be right back."

She knocked on the door with the knuckle of her middle finger and Adam answered shortly after that. "Hey."

"Hey." She answered back.

Moving to the side, Adam let Trixie in then closed the door. She took a seat on the bed and rubbed her eyes. She broke the ice. "Who's Gina?"

He didn't know why he felt the need to lie again, but he did. "I told you, she's my cousin."

"Adam," Trixie tried her best to keep her composure. "She's not your cousin, she's Laura's!"

He fell silent again and Trixie took control of the conversation. "Are you sleeping with her?"

Adam had to be honest now. "I was. We were engaged."

If she hadn't felt betrayed before she surly did now. They've been good friends for the past four years and Trixie had no clue why Adam had never bothered to tell her that. "Are you fucking serious?" She thought he was lying.

"Yeah, a month ago I called her and told her it was over. I want to be with you."

"Oh, I am flattered." Trixie blinked back tears. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I knew all along I wanted you and if you knew I was engaged you would have never let me in your pants the first time."

That brought back drunken memories of a good time two years ago in the bathroom at Tazer's place during a party for his birthday.

"Is that all you guys see me as, a whore?"

It took a second for Adam to answer. "No. Duncan had told me what a great fuck you were and I just wanted to see if he was telling the truth. And besides, its not like Gina and I were really gonna get married, talk about a whore."

Trixie really didn't care what the ladder part of his statement was. She was so pissed about what he had said first. Once again her anger got the best of her and without thinking, Trixie back handed Adam across the face. "Fuck you. I thought you were different than Duncan, but your just like him."

Now it was time for Adam to get mad and he rose his voice as he stood to his feet. Trixie made her way to the door and turned her back as he began speaking. "You're right, he and I are the same. We both fucked you while engaged to other women."

And when Adam gets mad he likes to throw things. Unfortunately the first thing he grabbed was the glass ashtray sitting on the nightstand. Cocking his arm back, he whipped it, aiming for the wall, but, instead, it popped Trixie right on the back of the head.

It had taken him a second to realize what he had done. Dashing over to her, Adam tried to grab her arm to make sure she was okay. Trixie wanted nothing to do with him at the moment and left before he reached her. "Trixie!"

Trixie walked down the hall and knocked on Duncan's door. He answered in his jeans and shirtless and was surprised to find her with black stained cheeks. Her make up was running. "Can I stay with you guys tonight? I don't want to be alone."

"Yeah, c'mon in." Duncan let Trixie in and she stopped right in front of the bathroom.

"Mind if I take a bath?"

Duncan shook his head, opened the door and flipped on the light. "Go for it."

She obviously now had a headache now. Closing the door behind her, Trixie turned on the water and let it fill the jacuzzi tub. After stripped from her cloths, Trixie turned off the water let her body relax in to the hot, burning water. It felt good as her muscles relaxed. Plus the steam help open her stuffy nose. That was the one thing she hated about crying.

Resting her head on the wall, Trixie closed her eyes and allowed the water to ripple around her body. Her breathing steadied and eventually her heart rate returned to normal. She had been on the verge of a panic attack and with no Xanax around, it wouldn't be fun.

Slowly her head moved over to the right and she oblivious to the fluid that had stained the white wall. Trixie felt light headed and it began to throb. Reaching back, Trixie placed her hand over the spot Adam had hit her, and it started to shake the second she saw all the blood.

Placing the stained hand under the water, the red coloring swirled around her. It was then her body slowly started to slip farther beneath the water. Her head, leaving a trail of bright blood as Trixie's eyes rolled in to the back of her head. She had passed out before her head finally slipped under water.

**

Duncan had been lying in bed with his head propped up on the headboard while he watched Brent channel surf. He really wanted to know what the hell happened between she and Adam. Without a word, Duncan got up and walked over to the bathroom door.

"Dude, she's taking a bath." Brent pointed out.

Duncan opened the door. "Its not like I've never seen her naked."

It took him a second when he glanced at the tub to realize Trixie wasn't there. When Duncan saw the trail of blood he jumped into the red water. He panicked as he gripped the back of her neck he pulled her up. Trixie's eyes were closed and when he lifted the lid, Duncan saw nothing but white and with two fingers placed to her neck he desperately searched for a pulse.

"Brent," Duncan frantically yelled. "Call 9-1-1."


	25. Touch and go

"You know, I've never really liked you." Colin tossed his controller to the floor as Troy scored another shorthand goal.

"Stop being a baby and play." Troy had of course packed his compact size PS2 and couldn't help but bring along NHL 09. It seemed video games and playboy mags were the only thing that kept the boys sane when they had an away game. No one liked being cooped up in a hotel room and they had to make due.

Colin was trying to instigate a fight when they heard loud voices and heavy footsteps coming from the hallway. "What the hell is going on out there?"

"Burish and Sharp are probably fucking with someone." Troy paused the game. "I'll go see who the lucky victim is."

Pushing himself up, Troy walked over to the door and opened it. First he looked to the right and saw no one, but to the left, what he saw shocked him. "Fraz, come here," he waved his friend over. "Three paramedics just went in to Seabs and Jigsaw's room with a stretcher."

**

A soaking Duncan Keith had been the one to let the paramedics in to their room. Before they arrived he and Brent had lifted Trixie out of the tub and on to the floor where they wrapped a plush towel around her body.

The three men in uniform pushed passed Duncan and Brent and began to work on Trixie. While one went down on his knees and searched Trixie's neck for a pulse, the other began to place round sticker like things on her chest.

"I've got a pulse." The paramedic lent his head down and listened to see if Trixie was breathing. She wasn't.

Tilting her head back, they place a mask over Trixie's mouth and nose to pump oxygen in to her lungs while another began chest compressions. It didn't take long before red water began to spew from Trixie's mouth and Duncan and Brent watched in horror.

The bathroom was covered in blood and it seemed her head was bleeding more now than it had when Duncan first pulled Trixie out of the water. When they found where the blood had been spilling from, the paramedics quickly dressed the wound before wrapping her body in warm blankets. Lowering the stretcher, they counted to three then lifted her on to it.

"We can take one of you to the hospital with her." The paramedic who had been gathering Trixie's personal information asked Duncan and Brent.

Both men wanted to go but only one could. "You go." Brent looked at Duncan sympathetically knowing he was the one closer to her. "I'll get Adam and we'll meet you at the hospital."

By the time Trixie was ready to be taken down to the awaiting ambulance, the entire Chicago Blackhawks team had been awoken from their sleep and was now waiting in the hallway. No one knew what was going on and they were desperate to find out.

Their hearts broke and tears welled in the eyes of the twenty-two men when they saw who was strapped to the stretcher. Never before have they seen Trixie look so helpless in their lives and their stomach churned when they saw the pile of bloody rags resting on her abdomen.

"Oh, baby." Adam had begun to walk a swift pace along with the paramedics and Duncan as they rushed down the hall. She looked lifeless and Adam couldn't believe this was her. Her skin was no longer milky, she looked like a ghost. And the girl who was once full of live was now fighting for it. She wasn't breathing on her own and her heart rate was slow and no longer held rhythm.

"I'm so sorry, Trixie." Adam cried out and was desperate to hold her hand and tell her everything was going to be okay. Most of all, Adam wanted to take it all back. He wanted to go back and make sure he never ran in to Gina at the engagement party for Sharpie and Laura. He wanted to go back and make sure he never slept with Gina and tell her no when she asked if they could get married. It was at this moment Adam wished he could have gotten to Trixie first and cherish every waking minute he had spent with her.

"Adam," Duncan got his attention and he found himself outside. They were loading Trixie in to the ambulance. "You go with her, Brent and I will be down there later."

It was now Duncan and Adam put their animosities aside. It wasn't about either of them, it was about Trixie. The girl they both loved, and the girl neither one of them may never be with again.

"Thanks, Duncs." Adam hopped in to the ambulance where the paramedics closed the doors before heading to Saint Vincent Hospital. Since leaving home Adam had found the religious side of him had taken a rest but it was tonight that he found himself for the first, in a long time, praying. He's mind was racing and the only thing he wished for was that they would actually reach the hospital at some point tonight.

When they finally arrived, a group of nurses were waiting when the ambulance doors were opened. Adam followed close behind and he couldn't understand a word the doctors and nurses were saying. They were using medical terms that were not in his vocabulary. But, the words Adam did understand would surely be the ones to haunt him for the rest of his life.

_She suffered blunt force trauma to the back of the head, leaving her severely concussed and unconscious._ And, _She stopped breathing due to mass amounts of fluid in the lungs_.

And for the first time since he and Trixie starting dating, he was thankful Trixie still loved Duncan. He couldn't begin to imagine what would have happened if she had gone up to her room instead of Duncan's.

It was when they began to shove breathing tubes down Trixie's throat was Adam escorted by a nurse out of the ER and in to a family waiting room. He was informed that she would be put through a battery of CT scans when her vitals stabilized.

Adam felt like he had been in that room for days but it was really only fifteen minutes later when the entire team showed up. Besides Adam, it seemed Patty Cake was taking it the hardest. He and Trixie had bonded the closest.

"Burr, is she gonna be okay?" Patrick's lisped voice was shaking and he was on the verge of tears.

Adam really didn't know what to tell him. He needed to be told Trixie was going to be okay. "Yeah, Trix is a tough girl. She'll fight through it."

Two hours later the doctor entered the waiting room and was surprised to see how many people had shown up. When the doctor asked everyone who wasn't family to leave, none of them did. They were a family on and off the ice. It was easy to tell the doc was slightly frustrated but he wasn't in the mood to deal. Taking the CT's from the envelope he was holding, the doctor held them up to the light and used his pen as a pointer.

"She has no brain injury or hematomas ." The doctor began, "The CT scan came back clean but she is suffering from one hell of a concussion. Thankfully the object she was hit with only lacerated the scalp."

"Then why is she hooked up to all these machines and can't breath on her own." Kaner asked the million dollar question.

"The concussion had caused her loose consciousness and in that time she slipped beneath the water in the tub and began to drowned. If she would have come straight to to the hospital to have her head stitched she would have been perfectly fine. It's touch and go right now, but if she makes it through the night I'd say she has a very good chance of a full recovery."

The entire room fell silent until Patrick spoke up again. "Can we see her?"

"I'm afraid not." The boys felt like they had been kicked once again. "She's in the ICU and they have strict visiting hours. I'm sure tomorrow you can."

Leaving them alone, the doctor exited the room. They boys were tired, frustrated and felt like they haven't been given all the information regarding Trixie. They wanted to see her and make sure she was being treated well. It was nearly three o'clock in the morning and they had forgotten about their game.

Duncan stood from his chair pushed the hair out of his eyes. "I'm gonna go talk to someone about getting her airlifted to Northwestern either in the morning or tomorrow night."

He left without another word hoping some time alone would do him good. Patrick just sat in his chair, his knees bouncing and his anger rising. The guys would have expected the outburst from Duncan, not Kaner. "What the fuck did you throw at her?"

Adam looked at Patrick, taken back. "What?"

"Don't play stupid. What did you throw at her?"

"An ashtray." Adam had to keep his composure. He didn't want to breakdown in front of his teammates. "It was an accident, I was aiming for the wall and I missed."

Patrick stood up and walked over to him. He placed his hands on Adam's chest and shoved. "You mother fucker, you could have killed her. But who knows if she's even gonna make it through the night."

Adam was about to shove Patrick when Sharpie finally stepped in, breaking the two apart. "Hey! You two have to stop this, right now. All we can do at the moment is hope and pray she makes it through and tomorrow night we are gonna win that game for Trixie and hopefully by then she'll already be in Chicago. And if I see you guys go at it again I swear I will beat the shit out of the both of you. Am I clear?"

Adam nodded.

Sharpie turned to Kaner. "We clear?"

"Yeah, we're clear."


	26. Promise

The scene in Trixie's room in the ICU looked as if it could be part of the Exorcist. Earlier that morning her breathing tubes had been removed and yet she was still out. The doctors told the boys Trixie could be out for days...or even weeks. The lack of oxygen that circulated her system for nearly ten minutes could have caused detrimental damage, and the severity wouldn't be known until she awoke.

But, just minutes after returning to the hospital from their game, they got the surprise of their lives. Her eye's popped open, and within seconds she had begun to rip the IV'S out of her arm and hand. "Get me the fuck out of here!"

Patrick had gone back to the hotel before returning and brought along her bag. Trixie ripped off her gown, not caring she was butt ass naked, and began to dress in her street cloths. It was pure chaos as the doctors, nurses and the boys tried their best to calm Trixie down. She was on an adrenaline high and impossible to reason with.

"Trixie," Adam tried to calm her. "Babe, you've got to lay down so the doctor can check you out."

"Fuck that shit. Get me out of here!" No one had ever seen her like this before and it was quite honestly scaring all of them. But what they didn't know was that Trixie had an irrational fear of doctors and hospitals...and the dentist. Yet, she still had perfect teeth.

Besides Adam, the rest of the guys had been asked to wait in the family waiting room while the doctor sat down with the two of them. Trixie had finally taken a seat on the uncomfortable bed and was on the verge of a panic attack. Adam rubbed her back and while she couldn't remember only bits and pieces of the accident, she didn't brush his hand away. She needed comfort but she knew she wouldn't be able to stay with him long.

"Trixie," the doctor began. "As a patient, you have the right to discharge yourself, but as a doctor, giving you medical advice, I would advise you stay at least a few more days in the hospital."

She shook her head. "No, I wanna go back to Chicago."

"We can arrange for you to be airlifted there in the morning."

"I wanna go home, tonight. With them." Trixie was stubborn as hell when she wanted to be. When it came to her health, Adam wished she would just shut up and listen to the doctor.

"It's not a good idea for you to jump on a plane right away. Who knows how your lungs and body will react to the pressure change."

Trixie sill refused to take his advice. "Doc, I'll take my chances. Where are my discharge papers so I can get the hell out of here?"

Adam tried to talk her out it, saying he would stay in New York with her, but she only silenced him.

"I'll have the nurse bring them in." The doctor finally gave up and gave in. There was no use in fighting with her anymore.

She may have not remembered anything after passing out in the tub, but she sure as hell did remember the conversation they had before he hit her. Half the reason why she was so crazy at the moment was because of the fistful of anger that lingered in her chest. At the moment she wanted nothing to do with Adam Burish but for now she'd let him be the soothing fiancee she knew he could be.

"When we get back to Chicago, I'm gonna go stay with Patrick for a while."

Adam was taken by surprise. "Kane?"

Trixie nodded. She knew he was probably the only one who wouldn't mind her staying over. Plus, he was the only one who didn't have a girlfriend or wife or fiancee living at home. The thought scared Adam, to say the least. It would probably end being a frat house.

"Are we done?" Adam wasn't sure if she was trying to break up with him.

"God, no." Trixie quickly wiped a fallen tear from her cheek. "I'm just heartbroken over the whole Gina thing, and it's best if you and I stay apart for the next nine games. Let me cool off and think about things and if all goes well, I'll be waiting for you home on March 20th."

It was only March 2nd. Adam was heartbroken but he knew it was only a fraction of what she feeling. He knew Trixie too well, and Adam knew if he wanted to keep her in his life forever he'd have to let her go. It seemed his whole life had just fallen apart apart and the pieces would never be glued together.

"You promise?" His voice was barley above a whisper.

"I promise."


	27. 87

"Are you sure about this?" Alicia held the sheers to Trixie's wet and freshly dyed hair.

"Just cut it already!" Trixie tightly closed her eyes as she felt Alicia make the first snip. It had been a while she really cut her hair. For the past two years all she has done with it was a trim. Trixie loved her long hair but decided it was time for most of it to go. Plus, she was done with the outrageously bright hair colors and settled on a nice shade of cherry red.

Around the chair long locks fell and Trixie soon became fine with her choice. It had only been two days since she discharged herself from the hospital, flew back home and somewhat moved herself in to Kaner's house.

She had attended the game last night and watched from the second balcony. Trixie wasn't interested in sitting down by the glass nor did she want to sit up with all the other wives and girlfriends. She knew she would be alienated and possible picked to shreds after it had gotten out about Duncan's half decade affair with her. The last thing she wanted to do was sit with the women for hours who were automatically on Kelly's side.

Not to mention, Madden's wife, Lauren now held a grudge against Trixie. The pictures she had taken on the night of their bash in NYC, had been leaked to press and were now everywhere. As it turns out, one of the girls they were with that night had stolen Trixie's camera from her clutch. Patrick had been forced to make a public apology and Trixie had been suspended for an additional three games.

If that Detroit offer didn't look good three weeks ago, it sure as hell did now. The fact Trixie had been made out to look sluttier than the Ice Crew girls was beginning to bring her down. She loved her home and she loved the boys, but the internet bashing had begun to take its toll on her, and Trix didn't know if the 'Hawks were a good fit for her anymore. She loved her job and what difference would it make if she were doing it in Detroit?

Tonight was Adam's first game back since his injury, and though she was still mad at him for what he had done, there was no way she would miss it. Trixie loved Adam too much not to show up and Adam knew that as well. Although she had pretty much made up her mind on what she wanted, Trixie was just having to much damn fun at Patricks house to come back just yet. She was afraid if she went back to soon then things would just blow right back up in her face.

"So, who's the lucky guy?" Alicia noticed the ring on Trixie's finger. She may have not been living at home, but she was still engaged to him.

A smile was brought to Trixie's red lipstained lips. "His name is Adam."

"Burish?" She continued to cut at Trixie's locks, making sure the layers were even.

"Yeah." Trixie bit her black polished thumbnail.

"Girl, you will be breaking thousands of girl's hearts the second you say I do."

"I think I already did when I said yes to his proposal."

Trixie had gotten mass amounts of hate mail on her facebook ever since she changed her "relationship status" from "in a relationship" to "engaged". Whether it be nasty photo comments or smart ass wall posts, Trixie still used the damn thing to stay connected to her friends in school. It was at the end of the day when Trixie realized she was the one with the ring on her finger, not them. And she never expected 'hawks fans to be so brutal.

After her hair was blow dried and straightened, Alicia took the cape off Trixie and cleaned off a few extra loose hairs.

"I fucking love it." Trixie ran her fingers through her new do. Although she had taken off a good six inches, Trixie's hair was still long enough to reach past her shoulder blades and instead of the thick, heavy straight bang Trixie had been sporting, a soft side-bang feathered over her left eye.

"What time does the game start?"

"Three o'clock." Trixie glanced at her cell. It was almost one, she still had way more than enough time to head back to Pat's and change.

She paid for the cut and color before heading out in to the still cold Chicago weather. Yesterday it had gotten well up in to the fifties and today, it was back down to a bone chilling forty-five. In her car, Trixie blasted the heat and placed her hands by the vent in hopes of warming them.

Back at Patrick's house in Old Town, Trixie walked in to find Pat trying to figure out how exactly the washing machine worked. Up until five months ago when he moved out of the small apartment he had been renting and into the bigger, nicer house, Pat had just always had one of his girlfriends or his mom do his laundry.

At the moment it seemed ole' Patty was between girls or else he wouldn't be standing there like an idiot. "Trixie, I really did your help."

Knowing he was in a rush to get to the UC in preparation for tonight's game, Trixie agreed to do his laundry only because she too had some that needed to be done. As Patrick left it only had Trixie feel more depressed than she was this morning. She hated not being able to be in the locker room before a game and give them a pep talk as they lased their skates and tapped their socks. Instead, for the next twelve games, she would be at Patrick's playing maid.

The TV just couldn't amuse her any more and finally around 2:30, Trixie trudged in to the guest room she had been staying in. The room was decorated in soft pastel colors and it was so surprise when Pat had told her his mom flew in and decorated the place while they were on their circus trip.

Deciding to fuck with the boys tonight, Trixie dug through her bag until she pulled out the black and gold sweater. They were playing the Penguins, and Trixie took this as the perfect opportunity to wear her Lemieux sweater. Plus, she was sitting right at the glass next to penalty box.

**

When Trixie had arrived at the UC and found her seat, (not without buying a crappy hot dog, popcorn and a coke) she found her father to already be sitting in their seats. She had asked her dad to come to the game with her, and in honor of his future son-in-law, Jack was sporting a Burish sweater.

"What the hell are you doing wearing that sweater?" Jack hugged his daughter and took the popcorn she had bought for him.

Trixie shrugged her shoulders. "I haven't worn it in a while and now seemed like the perfect time to."

And just to get them more riled up, she planned on cheering for the Pens all afternoon. When the boys came out to practice, Trixie couldn't help but feel happy for Adam. He had finally gotten back on the ice after a long and painful injury and the joy on his face was indescribable. Not to mention the fans were overjoyed as well when they saw a certain antagonizer was back. There was fight just waiting with Adam's name on it.

The boys certainly did get a rise out of her choice of attire. Toews and Kane made faces at her where as Duncan playfully shot a puck in to the glass in front of her, before tossing it over to her. Trixie had enough pucks, but this was another she could add to her collection. And, they seemed to take liking to her new hair cut and color.

When the game started, Trixie realized there was no other person she would rather be with than her father. He was the one who had always taken her to games and Jack wasn't afraid to yell and pound his fists on the glass. She was just happy he hadn't brought up her thirteen game suspension and the fact she and Adam really hadn't been acting normal. Jack was too wrapped up in the game to notice and he didn't want to strike a nerve with his daughter.

Trixie had begun to fell uneasy when a player had started racking up the penalties tonight. He had been in there once in the second and again in the third when he finally realized who was sitting next to the box.

The Madhouse on Madison became even madder when the game ended. With another victory, the boys saluted the crowed before heading into the locker room. The arena had begun to clear out and it quieted down. Jack stood from his seat. "What do you say, lets go congratulate the boys."

Trixie reluctantly agreed. She wanted to stay as far away as possible from both locker rooms. It wasn't very hard for the father-daughter team to gain entrance to the lower level. All Trixie had to do was flash her United Center employee laminated ID card and most of the security guards already knew who Jack O'Callahan was.

With the press already lining up outside both locker room doors, Trixie thought this was her break, and she could go another game with him avoided. But, she wasn't as lucky as she thought she was. They had just passed the visitors locker room when the door busted open.

"Trixie!"

She stopped along with her dad and out walked Sidney Crosby. His sweater had already been lost and he just walked down the hall in his oversized hockey pants and under armor.

"Hey, Sid." Trixie tried to act surprised when he approached.

"Can we talk for a sec?" Sidney eyed Jack, hinting he wanted to be alone.

"Umm, yeah." Trixie turned to face her father. "I'll meet you in there."

Jack was skeptical about leaving her alone, but he did.

"What's up?" Trixie was unsure where this conversation would lead. Last season he had given Trix his phone number had she hadn't put it to use. They had a fun time at Harry Caray's, no doubt, but, Trixie just wasn't that in to him.

"We don't leave Chicago until tomorrow afternoon and I was wondering if you wanted to grab some dinner with me." He asked slyly.

Trixie had to wonder if he knew she was engaged to Burish. He had to, it was currently the hottest news in the NHL. But, Trixie also knew that with a another victory under their belts the boys would be out celebrating. Adam would be having his fun, so why shouldn't Trix? Besides, she had been avoiding the poor guy for nearly a year, dinner was the least she could do.

She thought for a second and seeing as to how it was only five-thirty, Kaner wouldn't be rolling in the house until well after midnight. And she didn't want to risk getting caught by some crazed fan at a restaurant with Sidney Crosby. "How about you meet me at the bar on the corner after your interviews and we can just have Chinese delivered to your hotel room."

An even bigger smile spread across his face. "That'd be great."

As she walked back to the home locker room, Trixie didn't feel an ounce of guilt. She was having dinner with a friend, it wasn't like she planned on fucking him.


	28. The Sidney Crosby expierence

Adam had been watching the two ice cubes swirl around his glass of Jack Daniel's for the last thirty minutes. The celebrating hadn't done much to improve his depressed mood and one would assume he'd be the one to spend the night partying. His first game back had been a victory, yet he decided to hang back at the bar and drink. Some of the guys had decided to head back to Kaner's to finish the party. The thought of possibly running into Trixie was one of the reason he had declined the invite. With booze in his system, Adam was afraid of what he might actually say.

There was probably less than two mouthfuls left in his glass when a petite brunette sat next to him. "Aren't you Adam Burish?" She asked.

He wanted to ignore her, but this girls popping, and obviously fake tits had caught his attention. "Yes, I am."

She extended her hand. "Ashley. You played a really great game tonight."

"Were you there?" Adam wondered how he could miss such a beautiful girl in the crowd.

"No, I watched it here," she flipped a lock of hair off her shoulder. "I'm not one for big crowds."

They talked for a few minutes, about nothing too intelligent seeing as to how she must have had an IQ and the attention span of a ten year old. It wasn't like Adam was paying attention anyway. All he could focus on were her silicon boobs. He decided it was time to shut her up. "You want to get out of here?"

She smiled wide, showing off her bright white veneers. "I'd love to."

**

Trixie had spent a good hour trying to teach Sidney how exactly chopsticks were used. She couldn't help but laugh everytime he tried shoveling fried rice in his mouth it would end up all over the floor. Feeling bad for the guy, Trixie reached in to the large brown paper bag and pulled out a white plastic fork. She handed it over to him and told him to use it.

Rice and pieces of sweet and sour chicken littered the floor. There was a small table in the corner of the room, but, the youngsters decided not to use it. The floor seemed more comforting. Tucking hair behind her ears, Trixie swallowed a mouthful of food. "How do you like Chicago?"

Sidney stopped eating and tossed his fork down on to his almost cleared plate. "I like it. Somewhat different than Pittsburgh."

"I bet the people there are nicer." Trixie shoved her last piece of sweet and sour chicken in to her mouth. She couldn't help but shake those butterflies that were fluttering within her full stomach.

Sidney only laughed. He knew Chicagoan's had quite the reputation for being assholes. "A lot of the people that I've met here are rather sweet."

She had know idea how to verbally respond, so her skin did it for her. Trixie's cheeks began to beat a rosy red. She can swear her heart began to flutter. But, with one quick and swift look down at her ring, she remembered Adam, and how he had always made her feel nervous and gitty.

He looked in to her blue sapphire eyes and swore a sparkle that hadn't been there before was visually present. "You, are gorgeous."

Her smile was wide and again her cheeks blushed. Trixie brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Thanks." She was never good at taking compliments.

The space between the two seemed to have suddenly gotten smaller. Her heart pounded in her chest as Sidney's eyes traveled from hers then down to her lips and back to her eyes. Normally she would have protested when another man slowly leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. But this time it was different. When Sidney placed his lips lightly to Trixie's, she didn't fight back.

In fact, she drew in a sharp in take of oxygen, taken back. Her hand slowly found the back of Sid's neck where her fingers griped the skin. Since she was twenty, Trixie always had an infatuation for Sidney and tonight it seemed all her felling were spilling.

She was angry with Adam and that was probably the only reason why she didn't stop when she felt Sidney slide his tongue past her lips where it entwined with her own. She was a person of revenge and Trixie wanted Adam to hurt just as bad as he had hurt her.

Sidney was surprised himself when Trixie had begun to remove his shirt off his torso. All he had wanted was a kiss, but hell, if she had no intention on stopping he was going along for the ride. Their kiss broke for a second allowing Trixie to fully remove the shirt, where Sidney did the same to her.

Gently, he pressed a hand to her shoulder forcing her to lay down. Trixie's back hit the hard floor where Sidney supported himself above her and again connect their lips. Her hand's cupped his cheeks while his worked on the button of her jeans.

Trixie didn't know what scared her more; the fact she was able to fuck Crosby without once thinking of Adam or actually allowing herself to follow through with the act. The reflection in the bathroom mirror wasn't that of the Trixie she remembered. The one staring back at her had a hickey on her plus point, a hickey which her fiancee had no part in. She dug through her bag looking for her compact. Surly some powder would do the trick.

Her skin was still flush when she exited the bathroom. Sidney was lounging in his bed flipping through the channels on the television. "You headed out?"

Trixie nodded her head. "Yeah."

Rising to a standing position, Sidney walked over to Trix and wrapped his arms tightly around her. The two had partied a few times during the past three years and Sidney would be lying if he said he wasn't attracted to her. Trixie inhaled the scent of his bare skin and returned the hug.

"You should really come out and spend some time with me in Nova Scotia during the off-season."

Trixie agreed it would be a good idea. She needed to get the hell out of Chicago for some time. "Yeah, that'd be a great time."

Escorting her to the door, Sidney plopped one last kiss to her lips before she left. But, he still had one last issue to address. She was already halfway down the hallway when he yelled out her name. "Trix, Burish, he's not good for you."

Surprise, surprise, he was the third person to tell her that. She really had no idea how to answer so she just went on walking to the elevators. Thankfully she was alone and when the doors binged and opened she stepped out, applying a fresh coat of red lipstain to her lips.

Trixie suddenly wished she hadn't turned her head, because when she did, the cosmetic nearly dropped from her hand. The gold elevator doors that were about closed reviled a shocking sight. She and Adam locked eyes for a split second before the doors closed as Trixie wondered who's lips his were firmly kissing.


	29. It's something unpredictable

The clock struck twelve when Trixie entered Patrick's house. She had been expecting Pat to be passed out on the couch or spending the night at some girls house, so when she found all the lights were on and heard chatter in the kitchen, Trixie was slightly bummed. Looking forward to a nice hot bath and a big fat sleeping pill she now knew her plans had been changed.

Around the kitchen island, Trixie found Andrew, Kris and Patrick. She was welcomed with loud hellos and cheers as she dropped her purse on the table and hung her coat on the chair. Lilly came out of her hiding spot and brushed her tail along Trixie's leg. The feline was happy to see her owner for the three men had been terrorizing the poor animal for nearly the past two hours.

Empty bottled littered the counter tops as she pushed Trixie pushed herself up and took a seat in the island. She reached for the bottle of SKYY and unscrewed the blue cap before taking a swing. It wasn't a quick one either, the three men were surprised when they saw bubbles rise.

When she sat the bottle back down she never twisted her face in disgust or stick out her tongue. She accepted the warm, tingle in her chest like a man. They knew something was up. She never drank like that unless she was hurting.

Andrew surprised Trixie when he leaned himself close in to her. He smelled her skin and instantly knew that scent. "You fucked someone. Who'd you fuck?"

Trixie rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the man's comment. She wasn't about to explain herself and at the moment Adam Burish was not the man she wanted to speak about. She played in cool. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

The guys laughed knowing full well she was lying. Trixie was as horny as a teenage boy. It greatly impressed them. "Liar! Now tell us."

Kris and Trix had become good friends, but they weren't as close as she and Patty were. "Sorry Steeger, my lips are sealed."

They all knew it wasn't Burish she had slept with. And they were pretty sure he too had hooked up with someone he most likely met at the bar. Patty could feel the tension growing from the silence they were currently in. He decided to bring in some good times. "Hot tub anyone?"

Trixie had forgotten her swimsuit back at Adam's place seeing as to how she didn't think she would need it this early in March. It was still bitter during the night and three days ago it had snowed. The three sat in a circle in Patrick's new hot tub. He had purchased it to impress the ladies when he brought them home. Thank god for cleaning chemicals or no one would probably ever relax in it.

An empty bottle of Cristal floated in the water and with all the alcohol in her system, it didn't bother Trixie that she was only in her bra and panties. Besides, the other three guys were only in their boxers. Well, Kris was wearing Superman briefs.

"Did you meet him at a bar?" Ladd asked. They were trying to figure out who Trixie had slept with.

She shook her head and took a took a sip of her rum and Coke.

"Do we know him?" Pat's lisped voice was slurred.

Trixie was hesitant to answer and thought about lying. But, that wouldn't make the game fun. "Yes."

Ohhh's and ahhh's escaped the lips of the three inebriated men as they scratched their hair-free chins. She was hoping they would pass out before they guessed correctly. Next it was Kris's turn to ask a question. "Does he play hockey."

"Yes."

"Pro?" Patrick tried to keep his bottle of coconut rum from spilling in the water. "And if so, what team does he play for?"

They had finally caught on and pretty much already knew the answer. Besides the Hawks there had been only one other NHL team in the Windy City tonight. And with all the drama that had gone down in the past few months, they highly doubted it was a Hawk who banged her.

"Yes, and the Pens."

"I know." Ladd stuck his index finger in to the air while a giant smile spread across his face. "Sidney Crosby. That kid has been trying to get in your pants since the day you turned eighteen."

Kaner, in his drunken state found it hard to comprehend. "Wait a minute. You'd sleep with Sid and not me?"

Kris seemed relived by Pat's statement. "Wait, you mean I'm not the only one she hasn't slept with yet?"

"Hey, I didn't say I actually slept with Crosby." Trixie tried defending herself.

"Save it O'Callahan. We know you did." Andrew splashed the woman.

She stayed silent knowing she probably looked like the biggest slut ever. Not only did she fuck around with the guys on the team she worked for but, now she moving on to other teams. "I saw Adam, heading up to a room with some bleach blond slut."

That shut them up and the pieces slowly started to fall in place. "I'm really sorry, Trix."

Trixie looked at Kaner and held a smile on her lips. "Don't be. I'm not."

The following morning, Trixie was surprised when she didn't wake up with a massive hangover. Sure she had a headache but there was no nauseous feeling. From the other end of the hall however, she could clearly hear Pat puking his guts out. She really had no idea how much the three of them had actually drunk before she arrived home.

Andrew was still lying on Patty's couch when Trixie mustered the energy to walk down the steps. The TV lightly hummed as he watched the screen in an absentminded state.

"You want some coffee, Laddy?" Trixie offered.

All he did was groan and she took that as a yes. Minutes later, after pouring two steaming cups of hazelnut coffee and toasting up four slices of wheat bread, Patrick sluggishly waddled in to the kitchen. His hair was a mess and he was naked besides the boxers that hung dangerously low on his hips.

Kris had somehow managed to get himself home last night and for now, the three lazy bums lounged on the couch. Cartoons had been their pick and even after nearly three hours none of them were board.

On the coffee table, Trixie's phone vibrated. She reached for the pink phone and pressed the trackball reviling her text message. It was Adam, the last person she thought it would be from seeing as to how she and Sid had been texting all morning.

After a quick reply, Trixie stood to her feet and pulled her pink sleep shorts farther down her thighs. "I'll see you later boys, Adam wants to talk."

She made her way up the stairs to change when she heard Patrick yell. "Go easy on him."

Using her own key to unlock the door to Adam's townhouse, Trixie slipped her feet from her shoes and left them at the front door. She found him sitting on the couch, eyes locked on the television with a carton Chinese food in his hand. Taking a seat on love seat adjacent to the couch, she crossed her legs.

Adam set the carton on the coffee table and turned off the TV. "Before you say anything, Trixie, I have to ask. What were _you_ doing at that hotel last night?"

"I think I should be asking you the same question." She could feel her defensive walls start to come up.

He put up his hand so she would stop talking. "Trixie, I asked you first."

It took her a second to find the courage to answer. "I was with a friend."

Leaned back on the couch and ran a hand through his dirty hair. He really had no idea what to say to Trixie, he would only be a hypocrite seeing as to how he had in fact fucked the girl he met at the bar last night.

"Who were you with?" Trixie's voice was soft. She was afraid to hear his answer.

Reaching for the carton again, Adam finished the last of his sweet and sour pork. "Some girl I met at a bar." He wanted to ask the same question but he feared he'd get the same answer. "Who were you with?"

Again, she hesitated. This time she really had no clue how he'd react. "Sidney... Crosby."

Adam was angry. If there were any guys in the world he quickly became jealous of, it was other hockey players. Mainly because he knew those were the kind of guys Trixie was attracted to.

"You know, people are telling me that you're too young to be getting married and that I purposed too soon. And how you're the one who's not ready to tie the knot but in reality, it's me who's not ready. I'm not done having fun." Adam figured he'd do it quick; like pulling off a band-aid.

She had no clue Adam had been feeling that way. Trixie would never admit it but she was relieved Adam had brought it up first. She too wasn't done having fun, she was only twenty-two years old after all. "What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is, maybe it's not such a good idea for the two of us to be together. At least until we grow up." He could see the pain and hurt swimming in her face. "Admit it, Trix, right now all you and I want are casual hook ups. Some one who we can throw out of bed in the morning and not have to cook breakfast for."

"I think your wrong. All I want is to have a family. A family with you." Trixie tried her best not to cry. She didn't want to give Adam the satisfaction of seeing her break down.

Adam went to grab her hand but she quickly pulled it back. "Believe me, you are a young and beautiful girl. You have a job tons of people would kill to have and you should be having all the fun can have."

She quickly wiped a tear from her cheek. "I have lots of fun when I'm with you."

He shook his head. "No, you've been having way more fun with Kaner."

Trixie really wasn't in the mood for a fight. "So, are we done? Is this it?"

Adam nodded; his voice was barely above a whisper. "Yeah."

Blinking back tears, Trixie stood up. She twisted the Tiffany off of her finger and tossed it on to the coffee table. Adam just started at; he was surprised Trixie had given it back. "You'll make some lucky girl incredibility happy."

Adam just let Trixie leave. He watched with a broken heart as the one good thing in his life walked right out the front door.


	30. but in the end it's right

The month of March came and went and the boys clearly had been affected by the month's drama. They played their hearts out and ended the last full month of the regular season with a 6-7-2 record. Their three game loosing streak took the biggest toll on Adam. He was still grieving over Trixie and still found it slightly painful to play with his knee. He had begun to mask his feelings of hurt and brokenness by sleeping with every girl he laid eyes on. And every time he was in another woman, it was Trixie's face he saw.

After her thirteen game suspension had been lifted, her first day back had been a tad awkward. The boys had been forewarned about the breakup and tried not to take sides. Once the feelings become too hard for the twenty-two year old to handle, Trixie cornered all the boys and it clear to them she and Adam were fine and friends. It was the truth. There were no hard feelings between them.

Nothing would ever be the same between she and Duncan. The feelings were still there and deep and it was a day to day struggle to behave. It made Trixie happy to see Duncan grow more and more excited as his wedding date slowly approached. Unlike Adam, Trixie had taken herself out the dating scene to work on herself. Although she no longer lived with Patrick, Trixie and Sam found themselves a nice condo on Lake Shore Drive. Now, on game less Friday and Saturday nights, it was Trixie who stayed at home alone watching movies on HBO.

During the playoffs, Trixie even found herself saying no to the victory shots of tequila. She remembered all the trouble booze had gotten her in to in the past and decided to stay away from the liquid courage.

She was still shutting down ole' Patty Cake whenever he asked her out for dinner. Trixie still remembered how dinner with Sidney had put an end to her engagement and there wasn't a day that went by where she didn't blame herself for the demise.

When Adam and Trixie had first broken up it was Patrick Kane who was there to pick up the pieces. He rubbed her back as she cried herself to sleep, he made sure she ate and bathed and it killed Pat to see his best friend so brokenhearted.

Slowly but surely, both Trixie and Adam began to feel their hearts heal.

After the boys swept the Sharks and their first Conference Championship since '92, Trixie knew the boys had something special and would win it all. But, she wouldn't dare say it aloud and jinx it all.

And that's exactly what happened 4:06 in to overtime during game six in Philly. Every ounce of pain and heartache had been lifted from the shoulders of Keith, Burish, Kane and O'Callahan.

Her veins pumped with adrenaline and as cheesy as it sounds, tears were brought to Trixie's eyes as she watched the boys take their team photo and hoist the cup high above their heads. She had never seen them so happy before as they celebrated with family and friends. As the cup was passed off to Patrick, Trixie snapped photos as he brought the it down to his lips and kissed it.

"Trixie!" Kane yelled over the noise and called her over.

She wrapped her camera around her wrist and walked carefully on the ice. Patrick smiled wide and skated to meet her halfway.

"You ready?" His voice was excited and looked like a kid on Christmas. It took her a minute to realize he was about to hand her Lord Stanley's Cup.

"Yeah!" Trixie held up her hands and gripped it tightly once it was passed off to her. The cup was heavier than Trixie had expected it to be. At thirty-six pounds it weighed about the same as a toddler.

"Kiss it!" Buff still had a Blackhawks flag wrapped over his shoulders as he skated around. Trixie did just that. She lowered her arms and locked her lips against the cold cup. She wished her father and brother could have been there with her to celebrate the moment with her.

Trixie handed it off to Jonathan as Patrick wrapped his around her shoulders. "Ready to get drunk?" All he could think about was the endless supply of Cristal and beer in the locker room.

"Yeah." Patrick kissed her left temple before skating off to hang with his buddies.

When the party moved back to the locker room, it was done in true Blackhawks fashion. Music was blasted, cigars were smoked and no one was safe from the water gun. Versteeg had taken it upon himself to fill the squirt gun with Cristal.

Around one, Trixie and Ryan had begun to clean and pack up. Trixie had been in the middle of scraping stickers off helmets when she was cornered by Adam. "Detroit, huh?"

"Yep." Trixie set Sharpies helmet down and turned around to face him. "I turned my resignation in two weeks ago."

Adam then did something that surprised the girl. He kissed her; long, hard and passionately. "Chicago's not gonna be the same without you in it, Trix. I'm, we're all going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss _you_." She succeeded in blinking back tears as Adam grabbed her and hugged her tight.

**

Trixie woke up at seven a.m on Friday, June 11. Her head slightly ached and her body showed signs of a hangover. Today was a big day for the city of Chicago. Today was the Championship Parade. She had been invited to ride along on the last bus with Kane and Toews and the Cup. The young woman had been bubbling with excitement as she skipped around her apartment.

After showering and getting ready, Trixie arrived promptly one time at the United Center sporting a pair of denim shorts and a 'Hawks sweater with her fathers name and number on the back.

The boys looked about as hungover as she was, and sunglasses and Advil is what got them through the morning.

As Trixie stood atop the double decker bus with her friends and their families, she was amazed at the amount of people that lined the streets in support of their home team. Trixie savored the moment and took it all in as they were showered with red, black and white confetti.

Every bead of sweat, every once of spilled blood and every shed tear was now worth it all. For this moment; being surrounded by the ones she loved and the fans who loved them right back. And now, her greatest challenge wouldn't be figuring out where Kaner had left his gloves or skates, it would be saying goodbye to the men whom she had grown to love and made her life a mixture of heaven and hell.

**

After one last goodbye, Sam wiped the tears from her cheeks with both hands. It was the Sunday after the parade and already Trixie was leaving for Detroit. She didn't want to spend another minute in the Windy City, the longer she stayed, the harder it would be to say goodbye.

The rain poured heavily from the thick gray clouds above as Sam opened the cab door and allowed Trixie to slid in. When the door closed, the girls blew kisses to one another one last time. Trixie placed her carry on bag next to her on the seat. "O'Hare."

It took every ounce of self control for her not to break down and cry. The goodbye to Duncan and Adam had been easy but the hardest by far had been to Kane and Toews. As Pat hugged her tight, he wished he could stay like that forever. To hold Trixie until the end of time.

When they arrived at O'Hare International Airport, Trixie handed the cabby a few twenty dollar bills and told him to keep the change. With her bag slung over her shoulder, Trixie hesitated for a minute. She was about to step through the automatic doors when someone grabbed her arm.

"Patrick!" Trixie was surprised when she saw the man who had grabbed her. She had left Patrick at the bar last night and she surprised he was even awake.

"I can't let you leave." He grabbed her wrist in an attempt to keep her by him.

Trixie had a plane to catch and she really didn't want to deal with bull shit at the moment. All he would end up doing is making it harder for Trixie to board the plane. "Patrick, please, go home."

Patrick shook his head. "I'm not going home without you. Trix, I want to be with you and that can't happen if you're in Detroit."

"Please, don't start with that shit." Trixie could feel the tears in her eyes start to well. As much as she wanted to stay with him and give it a shot, she had a job waiting for her with the Red Wings.

"Just hear me out." Patrick started. "I know you've had bad experiences with hockey players and it doesn't bother me that you've slept with half the league. I, myself, have fucked every ice crew girl on every god damn NHL team. We're two very attractive people."

Trixie couldn't help but laugh at him.

"I can't promise you I'll do the dishes or laundry right, but I do promise I will treat you with the respect you deserve." Patrick even began to chock up and Trixie was crying. "Please, Trixie, I am begging you. Please stay in Chicago. There is nothing for you in Detroit. Rocky and Stan would give you your job back in a heartbeat. You belong here, with me."

That make Trixie think. Patrick was right. There wasn't anything special for her in Detroit and Stan would have no problem giving her the job back. He had been heartbroken when Trixie handed in her resignation.

"Okay." Was all that could escape her mouth. "For you, Pat, I'll stay." Patrick busted out in tears as he cupped Trixie's cheeks. They both leaned forward and sealed the deal with a kiss.

The End.


End file.
